The Anti-Life Overture
by adeadfreelancer
Summary: The story begins not with a crisis, but with the overture. The origins have already been set, yet many heroes' stories are still in their infancy. As meta-humans become more common at an increasing rate, questions begin to rise as to why. The answer lies not on Earth, but deep in the cosmos where an unstoppable force of evil moves ever closer to wiping out all life in the universe
1. The Last Kryptonians

Jor-El walked down the hall of his lab, his shoulders slumped and leg limping from over exertion. His grey beard had grown thick over the past several months, as had the hair on his head. His brown eyes held heavy bags beneath them, and his black skin had paled from lack of sunlight.

He approached one of the four bedroom doors in the hall and took a moment to ready himself. The door next to it was the nursery where Kal-El had only spent a week sleeping. Behind him was his and Lara's room, and next to it the guest room whose last occupant was now his greatest enemy. Ahead of him was the room that had been renovated three months earlier for his niece, Kara.

Jor-El himself had never seen the monster that took Kara's family, but he knew of him. The Collector of Worlds, who had taken the city of Kandar in a single night. Kara rarely spoke of that night, but what she did say was horrifying. Skeletons of various races fused with metal and wires to serve as sentries, slaughtering anyone who showed any signs of resistance. A massive skull shaped ship looming over the city, before pulling it away from the planet like it was just a toy left in a sandbox.

After thinking back to what Kara had been through Jor-El pressed his hand to the scanner, opening the door to reveal his niece sitting on her bed with her head pressed to her knees and arms wrapped tight around them. Her short blond afro poked out above her arms, which still bore the scars of that horrible night.

"Kara," he said, his voice cracking from stress. "It's time."

The two walked back down the hall, to where Lara waited with Kal-El wrapped in a blanket bearing the sigil of the house El and held tight in her arms. She was a few inches taller than Kara and looked fairly similar to her, only with a thinner nose and broader jaw, and of course she was two decades older. She looked to Jor-El with sorrow before her eyes flickered to Kara and a small smile grew on her lips.

"Don't look so grim, dear," she said, hoping she sounded optimistic. She didn't. "Tomorrow is a new day, and everything will be okay."

"I don't want to go!" Kara yelled, holding back tears. "We can stay! I can help you!"

"Kara, you can't," Jor-El said softly. "He's almost here."

""Zod!? Who cares!? We can fight him together!"

"It's not Zod I'm scared of…"

"The Collector?" Kara asked in shock.

"No… Someone far worse. The reason The Collector came to Krypton in the first place. A being of pure evil he seeks to kill everything that lives."

"Who? What's his name!?"

"Names bring power, Kara. And he brings apocalypse."

Tears slid down Kara's cheeks as she said, "Please don't make me go alone."

"You won't be alone," said Lara. "You'll have Kal-El. It will be your responsibility to show him The Ark, and teach him right from wrong."

"But what about this monster? The one making us leave? What if he finds us again!?"

"We've already thought about that," said Jor-El. "We chose this world for a reason. Though technologically they are far inferior to us, they are almost identical to us in all but one way. Their biochemistry is programmed to react to all sunlight in an identical way, and they orbit a yellow sun."

"I don't understand."

"On that planet, you will be like a god. You will be powerful enough to stand up to The Collector, and any other threat that you face. Kara, you will be unstoppable."

"I don't want to lose another family…"

"I know."

Jor-El hugged Kara, and Lara placed an arm around her shoulder and together they began to cry. Their moment was cut short by a high pitched alarm cutting through the air, before quickly going silent.

"He's here!" Lara gasped.

"Damn it Zod," Jor-El cursed. "We just needed a few more minutes…"

"Uncle Jor?" Kara asked.

"Get to the pod, Kara. Lara, take Kal-El to his pod then launch the arc. I'll stall Zod."

"What are you going to do?" Lara asked.

"Whatever it takes."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I love you both, so much," Kara said.

"We love you too," said Lara with a smile that did little to hide her rising fear.

Kara and Lara ran towards the space pods while Jor-El quickly walked towards the lab's entrance. His hand landed on the pistol strapped to his side beneath his cloak, and he knew he would have to use it. It wasn't much compared to the plasma rifles the Kryptonian Military Guild used, but it would be enough to stall. That was all he could do.

Just as he reached the entrance the doors blew open and a black smoke filled the room, masking everything but sound. A chorus of bootsteps approached and Zod's voice said, "Make sure your rifles are set to stun, and sweep out. Remember, The Council them alive."

The smoke began to thin and a figure appeared, causing Jor-El to quickly raise the pistol and fire. The red laser hit his target in the head, and his body fell to the ground a second later. He turned as someone quickly approached from the side, their figure quickly appearing. He raised the pistol and fired again, hitting the soldier in her chest. She fell backwards with a yell before blacking out. Jor-El looked around for the next soldier, only to be shot perfectly through his shoulder, just barely missing an artery.

"Hello, Jor-El," Zod said smugly as he approached Jor-El, who could no longer raise his arm. He dressed in the same armor as his men with no distinction other than his rank on his shoulder, with his face obscured by his helmet.

"Dru-Zod," Jor-El said in the respectful tone he had used for so many years before remembering the situation. "How could you do this to me? Your best friend?"

"You went against The Council. You're a war criminal. You're lucky I convinced them to take you and Lara alive. Speaking of which, where is your wife?"

Jor-El laughed and pointed upwards, leading Zod's sight to the glass ceiling where they watched as three small ships quickly rose into the air. "Where you can never get them," Jor-El chuckled.

"You mad man! Do you have any idea what you've done!?" Zod growled, before punching Jor-El in the face, breaking his nose.

"Jor-El!" Lara cried before running to her husband's side.

"So, looks like Lara's still here. Who were in those pods, Jor?"

Jor-El looked up at Zod triumphantly and said, "Our last hope."

"How beautiful. I'm truly sorry this had to happen, Jor. Now please, come with me," Zod asked as he extended his hand.

Jor-El raised his left hand to meet Zod's, before shooting him in his gut. Zod stumbled backwards in pain and surprise, his armor having absorbed the blast but it did little to keep the air from being knocked out of him. He watched as Jor-El shot Lara in the side of her head, then placed the pistol under his own chin. He gave Zod one last look of pity, before pulling the trigger.

"Sir?" Non asked as he approached his leader. "Our orders?"

Zod sighed and said, "Destroy everything in here. Make sure Krypton remembers the house of El as traitors who sold our world to The God of Evil."

Kara cried as her pod breached the atmosphere, leaving behind Krypton and almost all traces of her life. Floating next to her was Kal-El's pod where he rested peacefully, unaware of what was happening. Seeing him made her stop crying as she took the time to brace herself for whatever happened next on the new world.

Behind them floated The Ark, which after a minute of inactivity fired a white light ahead of them that transformed into a circular portal. Kal-El's thrusters activated first, sending him through the portal with eases. Kara's thrusters activated once he was safely inside and began to push her towards it. For a moment, it seemed as though everything would go well.

Then a massive red portal appeared a short distance, letting loose a soundwave that pushed her pod out of its trajectory and shook Krypton to its core. Kara screamed as the pod spun through space and a computerized voice said, "Trajectory lost. Plotting new course."

The thrusters slowed the pod to a stop, allowing Kara to see dozens of disturbing ships surrounding Krypton. From these ships came an endless horde too small for Kara to see, but she knew could be no larger than a man. She saw their numbers were endless, and that there was no hope for Krypton. Once more, she began to cry.

The Ark activated once more and a portal appeared ahead, sparking the pod's thrusters to reactivate. She passed through undisturbed by the invasion forces, and The Ark followed shortly behind. She left behind Krypton forever, but the heartbreak and misery had only just begun.

April 18th, 1989

Newlyweds Jonathan and Martha Kent drove down the dusty Smallville road on a late Friday evening. The Sun had gone down completely, leaving behind only a pink horizon that was slowly being overtaken by darkness. It was almost a perfect night. Martha leaned closer to Jonathan and put her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment.

Martha was a tall slender woman with light brown hair and deep brown eyes. She wore square framed glasses with pink tint that she told everyone was for style. In actuality she was incredibly nearsighted. She was only twenty six, but she felt like she was twice her age. She had always been more mature than all her friends and sisters.

Jonathan was short and stout with extremely short brown hair and brown eyes, much like his wife. Unlike her he had broad shoulders and a muscular build from years of working on his family years. He was thirty years old and already had a small patch of grey hair, that he knew would soon be spreading across his entire head.

"What the hell," Jonathan said in disbelief.

"What is it, love?" Martha asked as she opened her eyes and looked up to him.

"There!" he yelled, pointing ahead.

Martha looked out the windshield and watched along with Jonathan as something fell burning from the sky. Suddenly it changed course and began flying straight towards them, before sailing past their truck, ripping off the left side mirror in the process. A moment later there came the sound of an explosion as what they believed to be a meteor crashed into the cornfield.

"Was that what I think it was?" Martha asked.

"Depends," replied Jonathan. "Did you think it was a meteorite or a spaceship?"

"A meteor! I can't believe it crashed right in front of us! It could have killed us!"

"It wouldn't have killed us… ruined the mirror though."

"Let's turn around and go see it, you big lug."

"Alright, hang on."

Jonathan looked to make sure no one was driving behind them, and was satisfied to see a completely empty road. The roads usually were empty in Smallville. He turned the truck around and began to drive off towards the plume of smoke that marked the crash site.

The Kents got out of their truck and began to move through the cornfield eagerly, hoping to see a meteorite up close. Instead what they found was a crashed alien spaceship with a transparent canopy. Inside of it rested a small infant, undisturbed by the crash.

"Jonathan," Martha began. "Is it just me, or is that a alien fucking baby?"

"That is, in fact, an alien fucking baby," Jonathan said in disbelief.

Suddenly the holographic image of Jor-El appeared over the crashed pod, scaring both Kents and caused Jonathan to fall down backwards. He said, "Greetings. My name is Jor-El of the planet Krypton. If you're seeing this it means you've reached this pod before my niece, Kara. I cannot be here as… as I am dead, along with my wife Lara. Our entire planet was destroyed, my son Kal-El and niece Kara being the only survivors. I ask that you search for her, and protect my child until you find her. Kal-El will grow to do great things, with great power at his disposal. If raised right… he will be a guardian angel to your planet. I can only hope that whoever finds my son's pod is compassionate and will do the right thing."

The hologram flickered once then completely disappeared, leaving the couple alone in the dark corn. Martha broke the silence by saying, "Well… this is gonna be one hell of an adventure.

Jonathan looked to her and asked, "You want to keep that… thing?"

"Jonathan Matthias Kent, we are not going to abandon that child."

"I'm not saying we're going to abandon it… there's gotta be someone we can call. The government, maybe?"

"Jon, you know as well as I do that if we let the government know about this, the kid will never see the light of day again."

"Alright… alright. You get the hatch open, take the kid back to the truck. I'll get the winch and hook it up… somewhere. We'll take them both back to my farm, figure out something from there."

"Thank you, Jon."

"I love you, Martha. I'd do anything for you."

"I know. I love you too."


	2. Orphans

October 31st, 2011

Doctor Saul Erdel moved throughout his laboratory, setting up the experiment he waited his entire life to perform: an interdimensional broadcast device that would open a visual portal to Mars. It had cost a small fortune to buy the Gotham City Observatory, but it would be worth it if his plan worked. He had spent fifty years building to this moment, and money meant nothing to him.

He pulls a switch to activate the device, and electricity spreads out across the room, running through wires and into the steel bars that serve as his faraday cage. He wouldn't risk anyone discovering his secret. Saul moves to his computer and makes sure the cage is holding and is satisfied to see the electricity is at peak levels with no sign of failing.

Next, he approaches the control console for the device and begins to turn dials until he finds the correct frequency. He pulls a lever to activate it, and a flash of blue light momentarily blinds him. When he looks back, he does not see the red sands of Mars, or even a portal. He sees standing before him a horrifying creature.

It stands nine feet tall with a sharp oddly shaped head and two fierce yellow eyes surrounded by black rings. There is no mouth on the monster, not one that Saul can see anyway. Its skin is emerald green, and he is sure it is skin and not scales. It holds four long sharp claws on already long and thin hands that connect to long and thin arms. On its feet it has three thick toes with curved claws on the front two toes.

The monster looks around the lab then turns its gaze to Saul, looking at him with an emotionless expression that filled him with fear. Saul's hand goes to his chest as his heart begins palpitating, and he loses all feeling in his left arm. Sweat runs down his forehead as he looks to the monster, then falls to his back.

It jumps over the console with ease and moves onto the ground, crawling up alongside Saul. Tears of pain and fear fall down his cheeks as he waits for the creature to kill him, as it moves its claws to his head. Its longest claw touches his forehead, and for just a moment he feels sharp pain in that spot. Then it stops.

"I'm so sorry," a voice says in his head. "I didn't mean to scare you, I'm so sorry."

"W-what are you?" Saul asks out loud.

"My name is J'onn J'onzz. I'm a… I'm the last Martian."

"Why are you… here?"

"I don't know. You're the one that brought me here."

"It was… supposed to just be a… window, not a door…"

"Then it worked better than intended. You saved my life, Saul."

"How do you… know my name?"

"I read your mind. You're dying, there's nothing I can do for you. Not to save you, anyway."

"I… my people…"

"They'll never find me. Don't worry, I can change my appearance. Look just like them."

"Then… my niece and brother in law… they're all I have left… would you… tell them I loved them?"

"I will."

"I haven't seen them in years… they live at,"

"I know."

"Thank you…"

Saul's body goes limp and he remains motionless as J'onn stands over him, looking down at him with sorrow. Then, J'onn's body begins to rapidly change, until he looks identical to Saul, including his clothing. J'onn approaches the switch on the wall and pulls it down, deactivating the faraday cage. Instead of moving towards the cage's door he moves towards a wall, and steps through it as though it wasn't even there.

J'onn takes one last look at Saul, then takes his leave. Though this world was strange to him, he had a promise to keep. The least he could do was carry out Saul's last request.

Across Gotham City…

Black Mask paced back and forth in front of three bound and blindfolded men, each one beaten bloody, in a dimly lit office on the second floor of an abandoned factory. Outside two guards stood dressed in black suits and masks holding submachine guns. Six other guards patrolled the factory floor, while another two guards without masks or submachine guns waited with his limo driver outside.

He dressed in a dark red suit with a black shirt and vest, a red tie, and black leather of gloves. Of course he also wore his signature black skull shaped mask. Over his gloves were two separate sets of knuckle dusters, one gold and one silver. Both gloves were stained with the men's blood, and several teeth littered the floor.

He says to them, "So, I bust my ass providing for you boys. Bribing cops, killing witnesses, and what do I get? A knife in my fuckin back. Or rather, Paulie's back. I put Paulie through fuckin college, set him up in a nice ass apartment and give him one of the best damn jobs in the business, and you little shits thought I'd reward ya for killing him!?"

The man on the right speaks up, "Boss, we!"

Black Mask cuts them off by striking him in the left cheek, knocking him to the ground. He then straightens his tie before saying, "Of all the stupid shit my men have pulled, this has got to be the stupidest. Why in the HELL would I want Paulie dead!?"

The man in the middle cries out, "You said you were gonna kill him! We wanted to save you the effort!"

He punched the man in the right eye, collapsing it and cracking the socket. "It's a figure of speech you fuckin idiot!" he growled, before punching him again in the jaw, dislocating it. "Even if I did want him dead, I wouldn't have wanted you dumb asses to do it! I woulda done it myself, or at least get a professional to do it. Not a couple of limp dicked bastards like you!"

Downstairs, one of the guards felt a hand clasp over his mouth before another snatched the gun from his hands and tossed it to the ground. He attempted to scream as the free arm wrapped over his throat, chocking him into unconsciousness as he was dragged behind a piece of machinery. Seconds later he blacked out and was placed gently on the ground out of view from the other patrols.

Two more guards meet near identical fates, before another is attacked in a similar manner by a smaller person wearing dark green gloves. In the space of a minute, each guard on the factory floor is silently taken down without the guards above noticing anything was wrong. The smaller of the two attackers exits the building, while the larger one moves beneath the railing in front of the last two guards.

His right hand moves to his belt and removes a mechanical grappling hook, which he quickly uses to pull himself up onto the balcony, balanced perfectly on the railing, terrifying the two guards as they look into the darkness and its white eyes. The guard on the left raises his gun, only for a metal object to enter its barrel. He notices it just before he pulls the trigger and sighs a breath of relief as his partner turns to run. Before he can the shape lunges forward and grabs both their heads and slams them together, before releasing their unconscious bodies.

The Batman rises up to his full height, 6'2, and braces himself for confronting Black Mask. The Batman wears a black ballistic cloak that connects below his cowl made of the same material with ceramic plating over it. White lenses cover his eyes, serving as cameras that broadcast to a single computer, while also giving him readouts of various factors around him. Most of his suit is dark grey, with a black bat emblem with a yellow outline on his chest. Both his gloves and boots are black, while his gloves each hold three blades on his forearms, and end with sharp claws.

He moves his hand to his ear and says, "Robin. What's the status of the escape car?"

"Working on it, Batman," Robin replies as dodges a bullet.

Robin dresses in a dark red suit with green gloves and boots lacking the blades and claws of his mentor's costume. On his back he wears a black cape with a yellow interior, and instead of a cowl he wears a domino mask with the same lenses as batman. He fights using a six-foot-long staff, two inches taller than him, that can be pulled into two three-foot-long eskrima sticks.

"Why are you guys even working for this clown?" Robin asks as he sweeps the feet out from one of the guards.

"Shut the hell up!" another one yells as he unloads his handgun at Robin.

"Oh right, the boy wonder says as he carelessly dodges the bullets. "Why do you bother working for this clown. Better?"

Then he twists the top of his staff, disassembling it into the eskrima sticks before throwing one at the guard, hitting him square in the forehead. The guard falls backwards before hitting his head on the ground and instantly blacks out.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something…" he says to himself, as the other guard quietly rises up behind him and pulls a butterfly knife from his coat. "Oh right!" he exclaims, before spinning around and hitting him in the side of the head. The guard collapsed to the ground and Robin stepped over his body to move towards the driver's side of the limo. He tapped the glass with his stick and when the driver rolled down the window he said, "So, what's it gonna be, hot stuff?"

"I just work here," the man said as he raised his arms to show he was no threat.

"Good," he replied before moving his finger to his earpiece then says, "All good here, Batman."

"Roger," Batman calmly said, before kicking down the door.

"What the hell!?" Black Mask yelled, spinning around as he drew a revolver from within his coat.

The Batman smacked the gun from his hands before he could fire, then delivered a punch to his gut, knocking the air out of him. Black Mask was used to pain however and wouldn't go down so easily. He returned the favor by striking Batman in both sides of his ribs, where his armor was weakest, before upper cutting him in the jaw.

Batman backed up then moved himself into a fighting stance as Black Mask cracked his knuckles, glaring at him all the while. Then Black Mask charged forward, attempting to punch Batman in the head. The Batman replied by grabbing hold of his arm and striking the bottom of his elbow, breaking his arm, before throwing him over his shoulder.

Black Mask rose to his feet and looked up at the Batman with pure hatred in his eyes. Then he began to back up as he said, "Fuck this! Fuck YOU, BAT! I'm trying to run a business here, and you come along to screw everything up! I've had enough of this! The bosses been talking, and we're gonna fuckin kill you and that brat of yours! String him up for all of Gotham to see, so they remember whose really in charge!"

"Roman,"

"MY NAME is BLACK MASK!"

"Behind you!" Batman yelled, dashing forward as Black Mask fell over the railing, his hand barely missing the Batman's. He hit the ground with a thud, breaking a rib and twisting his ankle, but was overall fine. After making sure he wasn't critically injured, the Batman left him alone and returned to the men he had been torturing.

He told them, "Don't worry, Black Mask's been taken care of. I'm sure the police will go easy on you, after what he did to you," then he placed his finger over his ear and said, "Alfred, alert GCPD that Black Mask has been taken care of, and to bring an ambulance for him."

"Understood, Master Bruce," came Alfred's voice. "I have a rather interesting case for you."

"What is it?"

"A man died at the Gotham City Observatory, a heart attack."

"Why is that interesting?"

"Because five minutes later, he left, while his body was still on the ground."

"Is there any footage?"

"Some. The cameras were disabled until after he died, when he was recorded leaving, however a microphone was still enabled. I'm sending you the recording now."

A crackle of electricity filled the Batman's ears, covering most of what he assumed was Saul's voice. "zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz -window- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz -niece- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz – ye- zzzzzzzzzzzzz -you- zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

"I heard the word "niece," perform a background check," Batman ordered.

"Already on it, sir. Let's see… oh my."

"What is it?"

"It appears as though you already know his niece. Well, more than know."

"Who is it?"

"Katherine Kane. Your cousin."

"Kate… I haven't seen her in years."

"Time for a visit, then?"

"Yes. Have one of my nicer suits waiting for me. I'd like to actually talk to her about this."

"Talking to someone for a case? My, you really are the world's greatest detective."

The Batman chuckled before saying, "Thank you, Alfred. I'll see you soon."

An hour later…

Bruce Wayne arrived in an antique limo outside Kate's apartment, located several streets over from Crime Alley. "She sure picked one hell of a place to live…" he muttered to himself.

"Perhaps there's a reason for that, sir," Alfred said from the driver's seat.

"Maybe. Keep Dick busy while I'm gone, will you?"

"Of course, sir. I'll have him do his usual patrols. Perhaps I'll even send him to investigate one of the many abandoned buildings littering the city. It seems like they're almost always filled with criminals."

"Sounds good. Circle the block for a few minutes, I'll be back soon."

"Understood, Master Bruce."

Bruce stepped out of the limo and closed the door behind him before approaching the front door. He looked over the intercom before selecting apartment B3 and said, "Kate? It's uh, Bruce. Wayne. Your cousin? Can I come up?"

Silence came for an uncomfortable amount of time before at last the door buzzed, and Bruce was allowed inside. The apartment building's interior was better than he imagined, although he still questioned why his cousin would ever to choose to live in a rundown apartment in a ghetto when she was an heiress.

As soon as he knocked on her door, she pulled it open, causing him to nearly knock on her head. "Oh, hi," he said.

"Come in, Bruce," Kate carelessly said as she moved towards her couch.

Bruce looked over Kate's apartment, and found it to be abysmal with a dirty old couch and no TV in the living room, while the kitchen was full of dirty plates. Kate herself looked fairly better than her apartment and was clearly taking care of herself. She was 5'11 and nearly as muscular as him, though she seemed far too lazy too have built that much muscle. It didn't take a genius to realize she was acting. Her hair was orange and short, appearing as though it was just recovered from being buzzed off. Her eyes were emerald green, in stark contrast to his blue eyes.

She said, "You know there's Nazis again, Bruce? Like, actual fucking Nazis? The fuck's up with that?"

"Yeah, it's a problem," Bruce replied as he took a seat on the couch. "How have you been, Kate?"

"As alright as I can be. Mom died a couple years ago, opioids. She was more strung out than half the people in this building put together."

"Speaking of which, why are you… living here?"

"Rent's cheap. I can take care of myself. Why else?"

"Don't you want to live somewhere… better?"

"I'm fine here, Bruce."

"Do you need money?"

"For fuck's sake Bruce, I'm fine! Did you come here just to pity me or was there a reason?"

"I haven't seen you in years."

"Yeah. Whose fault is that again?"

"I'm sorry Kate, but I had to get out of Gotham for a while."

"Four years. You were sixteen, and you just disappeared off the face of the Earth. We tried looking for you, you know."

"We?"

"Me and dad. We thought you were having a break down. We followed your credit cards, but then they just stopped. That was in Japan."

"Year one…"

"Try month three. You left all of us behind, Bruce. We were worried sick. Then a year ago, you just pop back up opening an orphanage and don't even try to contact us. How do you think that makes us feel?"

"I'm sorry, Kate… I had no idea."

"Why would you? You didn't care."

"I do care, Kate. And I'm here now, for whatever you need."

"I need you to," before Kate could finish her sentence, there came a knock at the door.

She looked to Bruce to finish her thought, before standing up and moving towards the door, pulling a handgun from behind the kitchen counter as she walked past it. "Kate!" Bruce worriedly hissed.

Kate pulled open the door to reveal a tall muscular black man in a brown trench coat and fedora. He had a grey vest and red tie underneath the coat, resting over a white shirt. His jaw was strong and his cheeks thin, and he held himself up with an air of authority. Bruce couldn't help but notice how the man looked familiar, but it was a face he couldn't place.

"Kate Kane?" the man asked in a familiar, somewhat light voice.

"Yes?" Kate asked, pressing the gun to the door, aimed at the man.

"My name is… John Johnson. I was a friend of your uncle, Saul."

"I haven't seen uncle Saul in forever. Wait, what do you mean was?"

Bruce was preparing himself to charge at the man at the first sign of provocation as he said, "Saul past away earlier tonight. A heart attack. He told me to tell you that he loved you, very much, even if he wasn't around."

"I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Good night, ma'am."

As John turned to leave Kate closed the door before looking to Bruce as she said, "Wasn't that Detective Lance from that show we used to watch as kids?"

Bruce stood up and said, "Stay here Kate. I'll be right back."

"Not even gonna give your condolences?"

"Oh, right! I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. I haven't seen him since I was a kid so, I never really knew him. Not a big reason to be sad, you know."

"Right. You mind if I go now?"

"Sure, Bruce. Run away again."

"I'll be back. I promise."

Bruce moved past Kate then out the door, making sure to carefully close it behind him before he began to sprint down the hall. He reached the staircase and turned down it to see the man standing at the bottom, waiting for him.

"Interesting," said John.

"Ms. Kane calls you Bruce, yet you refer to yourself as Batman."

"How did you," Bruce began before John cut him off.

"Telepath, as you already realized, Batman. My real name is J'onn J'onzz, and I am not a threat to you, or anyone else."

"Saul Erdel would disagree."

"Saul died of a heart attack, something I deeply regret causing. I'm not going to fight you, Batman."

"Come with me back to my home. I need to be sure you're not a threat."

"I promise you, I'm not."

"I can't be sure of that."

J'onzz and Bruce glared at each other as J'onzz probed Bruce's mind, looking for lies or intention of harm. Upon satisfaction he said, "Fine. I will come with you."


	3. Dark

On the surface of mercury a being sits cross legged, meditating. Surrounding it is a magical barrier keeping the intense heat from burning it alive. It dresses in blue fabric so fine emperors wept at its sight and several pieces of gold armor that once belonged to several of Earth's greatest warrior kings. On its back is a yellow cape that once belonged to the lost pharaoh Akhenaten and resting from its neck is the ankh that represents the entity that even it bows to. Lastly, held on its head is the helmet of Nabu.

The being is called Doctor Fate, and it is both a human and a god. Currently it is a man, Abdul Maverick. Both its gender and host change frequently. Maverick is tall and lean, although still somewhat muscular, as strength is required to host the god Nabu. Abdul is Egyptian, as are all primary hosts to Nabu, though nearly anyone can be a secondary host. His skin is brown, once dark and vibrant now pale like a corpse. His brown eyes glow white while he serves as Fate, illuminating the holes of the helmet to appear as though the helmet itself has white eyes.

As Doctor Fate meditates, his mind spreads out across the cosmos, peering into the minds of six million beings across twelve hundred thousand planets. He hears the whispers of the dying, the threats of the powerful, the pleas of the weak, the monologues of the cruel and the speeches of the just. He tunes it all out. What he seeks is evil, true evil, something that threatens the very balance of the universe.

His eyes shoot open as just for a moment, he feels it. A force unlike anything he had felt before. A being that wished to commit genocide on a universal level, to wipe out all life from the very fabric of reality. From there to tear the universe itself apart, to discard time and space and rebuild it anew in his own image. It was true evil beyond which even Nabu thought possible, and it was coming to Earth.

Fate rose to his feet as he looked out across the cosmos, peering through planets and beyond galaxies. The ship it traveled on was fast, but it wasn't a ship. Not in any traditional sense. Fate turned his attention to Earth, resting blissfully unaware of the horrors that soon awaited it. He would need champions if Earth was to stand any chance of survival. Champions who would need time to train.

In London, a man sits in a pub half drunk and completely naked. His right arm is handcuffed to his chair leg, while he holds a royal flush in his left hand. His name is John Constantine, and he is the world's greatest sorcerer. He is also being held at gunpoint by a Nazi without a face. Specifically, his face had been surgically removed and was now resting on the table in front of Constantine.

Constantine is 34, although he had the body of a 22-year-old, quite literally. He has peach blond hair and sharp blue eyes, along with fairly attractive features that he would never admit to improving with magic. His jaw is thin and nose sharp, and at on point in his life he always held a smirk on his face. Now that smirk only appeared when his life was in danger, as it was now.

"You've got nothing, Constantine," the Nazi growled in an American accent. "Give up! Give me back my face, and I'll let you go!

Constantine chuckled before saying, "O' course mate! I'll give you back your face… if you win it of course. But what's worth a face? I say… six thousand… what are you again? American or Canadian? I can never tell you two apart."

"American, you British fuck!"

"Oh, right. The mouth on you… So, six thousand dollars, my suit back, and I don't know… your left arm?"

"Suck my dick!"

"I love to suck dick, but I would rather place my mouth on the devil's bollocks before I go near your rotten sack. So, minus the arm part, do you think that bet works?"

"Fine, fine, fine… just give me back my face already."

Constantine smirked and placed his cards down before saying, "Read 'em and weep."

"What!? You cheating bastard!" the Nazi growled before quickly pulling the trigger.

Time crawled to a slow as the bullet crept towards Constantine and its explosion remained visible, before stopping completely. "Well," remarked Constantine. "That was convenient."

"John Constantine of Earth," came a deep otherworldly voice from behind him, that seemed like two people speaking at once.

"Ah, shit," Constantine whispered to himself. "Hallo, Nabu! How've you been?"

"There is a great danger coming, John Constantine."

"O' course there is. Always is. What's that mean to me?"

"This is unlike anything you've ever faced before."

"That's what you said last time. An the time 'fore that."

"A great evil spreads across the cosmos, slaughtering all life it finds. It will arrive on Earth in a single year, and it will wipe all life from your planet, before moving onto the next."

"Course it will. Why do you care?"

"This evil seeks to rewrite the very laws of reality and remodel the universe in its image."

"Ah, there it is. You wouldn't care unless it fucked with fate, would you?"

"Of course not. The universe is far more important than a single planet."

"Right. Now, what about this bloke? He worth a planet?"

"No."

"Good," Constantine said, before snapping his fingers. Just like that he stood next to the chair dressed in his black suit, while the Nazi's face was perfectly stitched back on, upside down. "That's a good look for him… ah what the hell, I'll give him two days to live. Hope he likes total organ failure."

"Why don't you kill him now?"

"He's a Nazi, fate. A monster. He deserves to suffer first. That's why he gets two days to live."

"You are a strange creature, John Constantine. Do I have your assistance?"

"Course, mate. What's our next move?"

"We meet our net recruit."

Broadway, New York City

Constantine sat in a theatre booth next to Doctor Fate as he mouthed along to the lyrics of Time Warp, refusing to dance alongside the two goth nerds next to him. He turned to Fate and asked, "No' that I don't love the show, but what are we doin here?"

"Pay attention, John Constantine," Fate replied.

"Keep your voice down!" one of the nerds hissed at him.

Constantine looked back down at the play as Columbia's solo came, and he heard the most beautiful voice anyone in the theatre ever heard. A voice that was all too familiar to him. "Ah hell," he whispered to himself.

On stage Zatanna began to sing, "Well I was just havin' a think, when a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink!" and as she said those words, she locked eyes with Constantine.

"I don't like where this is going…"

Two hours later the pair met Zatanna backstage as she undressed from her role, which involved mostly redressing. Zatanna was a beautiful woman with jet black hair and crystal blue eyes, who usually held a kind smile. For Constantine there was only a scowl. Unlike him she was her natural age of twenty-six. She was 5'7 outside of her heels, which she wore everywhere, along with her magician's uniform almost everywhere other than the play. When she started, she wore fishnets, although she quickly realized pants were much more practical, and earned far less stares. From men, anyway. She didn't mind when women looked at her.

"Well, well, well," Zatanna said as she pulled a pair of jeans over her fishnets. "John fucking Constantine. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Owe, you know," Constantine replied. "Saving the world. Same as usual."

Zatanna began to pull off her corset while Fate held his cape in front of her chest and looked away in embarrassment as she said, "I still remember the last time we saved the world. A one-night stand and you never called again. Next thing I know you're hooking up with a dead guy!"

"First of all, it was a night and a half. Second of all Boston came onto me! Although I was the one to seduce Leonard. Cold bastard never called me back…"

"It's what you deserved," Zatanna replied as she pulled a tank top on and Fate lowered his cape. "Now what do you want?"

Fate spoke up, "A grand evil sweeps across the,"

"I'll do it," Zatanna cut him off.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Something evil's trying to destroy the Earth. Happens every other week. Of course I'll help, I'm not some kind of asshole who needs convincing. Constantine."

"ME!?" Constantine cried. "I was more eager to join then this sack of metal on a stick!"

"Of course you were. Who are we recruiting next, Abdul?"

"A monster that was once a man,"

"Mel Gibson?" Constantine asked.

"Oh my god," Zatanna said as she facepalmed.

"He was once known as John Wilson," Fate continued. "But is now known to the residents of Louisiana as The Swamp Thing."

"That is a terrible name," Constantine said.

"Shut up, John," Zatanna said. "Let's go, boys."

Angelville, Louisiana…

Two men rowed through the bleak Angelville swamp as a black teenage boy laid bound and gagged on the bottom of the dingy. Their names are not important. The boy's name was Jackson Hyde, and he was only sixteen years old. He had white hair and a sharp nose inherited from his mother, and a strong jaw inherited from his father. He was still dressed in his varsity jacket from his high school, which was now torn and stained with his blood.

The two men joked back and forth about murdering him, and he wasn't their first. They had experience murdering innocent people. There were already six bodies in the water below them, each one held down by a cement brick.

As they reached their dumping spot, the short man began to tie Jackson's feet bindings to the brick while The thin man lifted it up and prepared to drop it. Once finished the short man grabbed hold of the rope on Jackson's hands and pulled him up before pushing him over the ledge. The thin man immediately dropped the brick, and Jackson quickly sunk down to the bottom of the swamp as he desperately attempted to swim upwards.

He reached the bottom and hopelessness began to set in as he looked around at the six other bodies. Then, a set of gills opened on his neck. Jackson's eyes went wide as he realized he could breath, and he began to focus on pulling free from his bindings. He didn't have to work hard however, as a pair of reeds began to saw away at both his hands and feet, freeing him. he wasted no time swimming away, to where he hoped led to freedom. Luckily for him, the swamp was on side, and guided him safely towards the exit.

As The short man and the thin man rowed away, oblivious to their now escaped victim, the Swamp Thing followed them. Thick vines crept from the trees, before shooting forward and wrapping around the boat. A moment later it was torn in half, sending both men into the swamp water. It gave them no words as it grabbed hold of the thin man's head and crushed it in its fist. It said nothing as it ripped the short man in half and tossed his body into the swamp.

As it looked back in the direction of Jackson it said, "Be free, brother. Be free and remember the horrors of man."

A golden portal opened behind him and out stepped Zatana and Constantine, their feet resting on a large golden disc while Doctor Fate floated behind them. He said, "John Henry of Earth, champion of The Green. We have come to ask your assistance in saving your world."

The Swamp Thing look to them and said, "A mage, a prostitute,"

"Hey!" Zatanna yelled.

"I was referring to the blond one," Swamp Thing replied, causing both look at Constantine.

After a moment of silence he said, "Well I mean, he's not technically wrong."

Swamp Thing continued, "And a god. What makes you think I'm interested in joining your cult?"

Doctor Fate moved forward and said, "A great evil heads to Earth. It seeks to wipe out all life, including The Green."

"I see… and what do I have to go on, to prove you aren't seeking to trick me?"

"Our word," said Zatanna. "Gniht Pmaws yarteb ton od."

"Thank you for that, mage. But I still don't trust you. Not the god anyway."

"I have no interest in affecting The Green," said Fate. "It's existence leads balance in this world."

"Fine. I will aid you, only on the condition I return to my swamp once we're done, and you never return."

"Deal," said all three at once.

"Now," said Fate. "We go to our final champion. Be warned, she is far more volatile than any of you. She is most likely to refuse our call."

"You never told us what happens if we refuse," said Constantine.

"You die," Fate simply said.

A remote village in Spain…

There stood a legion of nightmarish creatures made of shifting black shadows who held no solid shape. The village they stood in was littered with mutilated human corpses and black goo. A single person stood against them, undeterred by their sheer numbers and impressive body count. That person was a fifteen-year-old girl.

Her name is Amaya Winston. Her name is Amethyst. She is the sole survivor of Gemworld, and a force of destruction for all things evil. She has long brown and blond hair held back by a purple crown that rests over her forehead. Her skin was light brown and eyes deep purple, although only when she was in battle. She dressed in an elegant purple combat suit, one of the last relics of her home. In her right hand she holds an ornate straight sword imbued with pink magical energy, and in her left hand was a matching dagger. Strapped to her left side was her sword's sheath, and on her lower back a sheath for her dagger.

Amaya raised her sword and focused a large amount of magical energy into it, before slashing at empty air. Just like that half her opponents were cut in half, their bodies turned to goo before falling to the ground in thick puddles. She had slain hundreds over the past hour, each attack draining her of energy, this one leaving her so weak she could barely stand. She pressed her sword into the dirt to keep herself standing as she panted and stared ahead at the approaching horde of shadows.

"Rehto hcae llik," came Zatanna's voice from behind her, and almost instantly the shadows began to tear each other apart.

Amethyst turned and looked up at Fate's champions, who all stood ready to defend her, while the god looked down at her in mild curiosity. "Who the hell are you?" she asked.

"The good guys," Zatanna said.

"More or less," Constantine replied.

"Princess Amethyst of Gemworld," said Doctor Fate. "You have been chosen to defend your planet from a great evil.

"Didn't you get the news?" Amethyst asked. "Gemworld's gone. Everyone's dead."

"That is true. However, that is not your planet. I refer to Earth, the place you were raised."

"Isn't Earth always in danger? That's why we have Green Lanterns."

"I fear the Lantern Corps will not be enough to protect this planet."

"Then why do you want me?"

"In addition to your powerful magical and combat capabilities, you have an additional reason to join us. The one who seeks to destroy this planet, destroyed your home."

Amethyst looked up at him in disbelief before saying, "Are you telling the truth?"

"I am."

"Then what's that monster's name?"

"His true name is lost to me, unknown to any being in this universe, I fear. However, I know the name his followers call him. Those worthy of calling him a name in place of a title."

"Who?"

"He is called The God of Evil. His name is Darkseid."


	4. Suicide Watch

Cole Cash was a monster to most. A psychotic mass murderer. No one believed him when he said he prevented an alien invasion. Or that a separate invasion force disguised themselves as humans. No human anyway. As he sat in his solitary confinement cell, awaiting the death penalty, he would find that he wasn't alone.

Cole was 6'3 and a wall of muscle, though it wasn't quite his, but instead the result of experimentation by the initial invading force. His hair was blond and eyes blue, though this too was the result of experimentation. They used to be brown. His skin had grown pale over the past three years, partially from wearing his mask, and then from incarceration. Though he hadn't left his cell in three months, he hadn't lost any muscle mass.

Suddenly there was a man standing in front of Cole, looking down at him as he laid on his cot. The man was tall and thin, far thinner than a person could be. He was completely hairless, and his eyes were so blue they hurt to look at, while his skin was almost pink. He dressed in a dark green suit which was visually the most human part of him, although he was very much human. Beneath his synthetic skin ran wires over a metal endoskeleton and tubes connected to artificial organs.

"What the hell are you?" Cole asked as he looked past the surface and under the man's skin.

"My name is Henry Bendix," said the man. "I represent the Stormwatch organization."

"No you're not," replied Cole.

"Pardon?"

"I've seen Bendix. He's human. Not… whatever you are."

"Your skills are quite… extensive. Beyond what we first thought. You are correct, I am not technically Bendix. I am a synthetic human made by him in his image. Or rather, a prototype."

"Right… why are you telling me this?"

"We wish to hire you, Mr. Cash. Your ability to identify otherworldly beings disguised as humans is quite… useful to us."

"Fuck you."

"Pardon?"

"I used my power to fight militaries. Helspont's army and the Daemonites. I ain't ratting out ordinary people to the government."

"You misunderstand. We may be funded by the United Nations, but we are far above the Earth government. We represent the best interests of the planet, not just what the government's want."

"Right… okay, say I accept. What happens then?"

"You will be temporarily relocated to a satellite while you are introduced to the system. You will be paid a salary of six hundred thousand dollars a year, or the equivalent if you choose to take residence in a different country. Your existence will be erased from the minds of everyone on Earth, excluding members of our organization, and you will be allowed to start anew as long as you work for us."

"Alright. I'll bite. What's the catch?"

"You will be expected to give your life in order to save the world."

"Eh, that doesn't seem too bad."

"What do you say, Cole Cash? Will you join Stormwatch?"

"What the hell? I'm in."

An empty cell stood with no evidence it had been occupied in the last three months. No one remembered the mass murdering terrorist known as Cole Cash. The dozens of bodies he left behind were attributed to home invasions gone wrong. Six years ago, Cale Cane was hired by Stormwatch to remain on standby. Ten minutes later, he was enlisted.

Amanda Waller walked down the corridor of Detention Center X accompanied by two armed soldiers, with another two guarding each cell. Amanda's short height and fat physique usually made her appear weak to many people, although they wildly misunderstood just how strong she was. When she first started her career her colleagues would not have believed a black woman was one of the smartest people in the world, and on top of that was incredibly strong for a human. She rigorously trained both with weights and hand to hand combat so she would never be forced to rely upon a gun or somebody else. Still, it was useful to have guards when working with dangerous murderers.

She reached the first cell and produced her tablet to pull up the prisoner's information. She swiped the lock bar beneath his name, causing the magnetic bindings on his hands to clasp together as one of his guards opened the cell door, and the other raised her assault rifle to make sure he wouldn't try to escape or kill any of them.

Amanda said, "Floyd Lawton, codename: Deadshot. You've been chosen to be apart of Taskforce X. In exchange for completing this mission, you will be granted one year off your sentence. Do you understand?"

"You say this every time, Waller," Floyd replied. "Answer's same as always."

"It's protocol, you know that Lawton," Amanda said as she continued walking.

The process repeated for each cell they went to. "David Hyde, codename: Black Manta," "Crystal Frost, codename: Killer Frost," "Harvey Dent, codename: Two-Face," "John Doe, codename: Onomatopoeia," "Mercy Kinkaid, codename: Black Spider."

Floyd is 6'1 with a rather lean build compared to many of the inmates at Detention Center X. He was still athletic and somewhat muscular, but his talents never relied upon strength. He has light brown skin and black hair from his Mexican heritage, with a thick beard growing due to his incarceration. His eyes are deep brown and look rather soft for a hardened killer.

David is 5'11 and held a similar build to Floyd but with more upper body muscles. He has light black skin and usually kept completely clean shaven, but now had a small amount of hair on his head and a short beard. His nose was broad, especially compared to his son's, and his eyes were filled with hate for almost everything. Though he was now in his 40's he looked remarkably young, the benefit of his deal with Ocean Master.

Crystal was 5'7 and held skin that was almost pure white. Her eyes were crystal blue and her hair snow white, while even her lips were almost white. Just by standing next to David he felt his body temperature drop. Her features are sharp and wolfish, and she wore a smug smile at all times that drew gazes away from her sadistic eyes.

Harvey stands at exactly six feet tall and is just slightly underweight. Exactly half his face is attractive, with black skin and a deep brown eye. The other half of his face was burned purple by chemicals, leaving behind a white eye and a permeant sneer on that side of his face. While most of his hair is black, a single white streak rested over the left side of his forehead in opposition to his afro.

The only member whose name was unknown to Amanda was labeled John Doe. He stood 6'2 and was abnormally thin. He had fairly generic features with golden blond hair and light blue eyes. His facial features weren't unique in any real way. He didn't even emote that much as he was standing with them. Not until he was wearing his mask.

At the back of the group was Mercy, standing at 5'10 and built like an Olympic gold medalist. Though she never made it to the Olympics before her indoctrination into The League of Shadows, she was more than enough. She had light black skin with curly brown hair and sparkling brown eyes. She was the physically strongest of the group, and the most skilled at hand to hand combat.

Once all were Gathered Amanda turned to them and began their briefing. "You're all being sent to Bludhaven, New Jersey. The mercenary known as Deathstroke The Terminator has been sighted entering the Bludhaven airport earlier this morning. Two-Face, you are to set up an open-ended weapons deal. An additional member of your team, Bane, will meet you posing as a buyer."

"I was wondering when we'd get a heavy hitter," Floyd whispered.

"Can it, Deadshot. It will be your duty to position yourself on a nearby rooftop and take out Deathstroke before he can realize it's a trap. We want him alive, so you're rifle will be loaded with tranquilizers in place of your standard rounds."

"What about the rest of us?" Crystal asked.

"Spider, Frost, you'll be acting as body guards to Two-Face. Manta, you'll pose as another buyer, to arrive after Deathstroke if Deadshot fails. As for Onomatopoeia, you'll stay with Deadshot and ensure he isn't compromised. Does everyone understand the mission?"

"Yes ma'am," they all said in sync.

"Good. Report to the armory and load out."

Once at the armory they each found their own personal loadout already ready. Deadshot wore a crimson red ballistic weave suit with an additional white ballistic vest and a white mask connected to a red eyepiece similar to Batman's lenses. Attached to each wrist were low caliber machine pistols disguised as bracers that fired in response to specific hand motions. Lastly, he was given his signature custom sniper rifle loaded with a single clip of tranquilizer rounds, each bullet filled with elephant tranquilizer.

David was given back his Black Manta suit, one of the most valuable items in their possession. A black synthetic skin covered his body before connecting to the outer layer of black armor that covered almost his entire body without hindering his movements. On his back was a small jet pack designed for giving him jump boosts or making him swim faster. His helmet was large and resembled a diving helmet with a gothic twist. It held two large black lenses that allowed for night and heat vision, as well as the ability to fire a beam of kinetic and electrical energy similar to a laser.

Crystal had the least of any of them, just a simple blue and white costume with white boots. Harvey was given a suit that was white on his right side and black on his left. Along with it came a chest holster beneath his coat where he held a Markovian magnum, and a dollar coin that he put in his pocket.

The John Doe dressed in what many would call fetish gear, dressing head to toe in black leather. Even his duster was leather. The only part of his outfit that wasn't made of leather was the center of his mask was white mesh in three circles that enveloped each other, the largest of which allowed him to see out of. His only weapon was a switchblade which he stashed up his sleeve.

Lastly Mercy dressed in a costume worn by several others. It was a nearly completely black suit and mask, with several pieces of dark grey ballistic weave sewn into it. Stitched onto her mask are a pair of thermal goggles that can be disabled with a button press. Like Crystal she was given no weapons, and like Crystal it was because she didn't need them.

They arrived in Bludhaven three hours later, and it was another hour before all were set in place waiting, including Bane. He stood ten feet tall and was a wall of pure muscle and was an intimidating sight for all of them. He was Mexican with light brown skin and brown eyes hidden behind the red mesh of his otherwise white and black luchador mask. Though it was hard for someone as large as him to find clothing, he wore custom tailored pants and a vest, while a device rested on his back that connected tubes to the sides of his neck to feed him the muscle enhancing drug Venom if he needed it.

The ground team waited at the pier, surrounded by several empty crates. Each minute that passed was filled with tension, all while Bane and Two-Face bartered back and forth over fake weapons. Nearly another hour had past when Deathstroke arrived on a motorcycle, stopping in front of the ground team.

He dressed in an orange and black body suit covered in lightweight matching armor. On his head was a helmet with its left half orange, its right half black. There was no eye hole on the right side, while behind his dark blue eye the ground team could see a cloth mask matching the helmet. On his back he carried a magnetically locked sword, forged by Themyscirans with the intent to kill a god. Over his left breast was a magnum, while two handguns rested at each of his hips. On his left shoulder was a combat knife, and a matching one rested on the left side of his lower back, while a third rose out of his right boot. Lastly was a collapsed staff hanging from the ammo belt on his waist.

"Well, well, well," he said as he looked them over. "Bane, I thought you were in prison."

There is no prison that can hold me," Bane replied, before looking to the ground in shame.

Slade got off his motorcycle and approached them as he said, "Dent, I thought you were in Gotham. Guess everyone needs a fresh start these days, huh?"

"You got that right," Two-Face replied. "I've got plenty of assault rifles and submachine guns. Mostly Russian models, though I have a few shipments of handguns in from Markovia. They don't hold many rounds, but they pack one hell of a punch."

Deadshot's voice filled their ears saying, "I can't get a clear shot, Dent. You're in the way."

As he said this Deathstroke said, "You like games, right Dent?"

Two-Face was taken back by this before asking, "I suppose. I like luck games."

"Well, I've got a game you might be interested in. Mix of luck and skill."

"What is it?"

Deathstroke pulled the knife from his shoulder and said with a smile in his voice, "Five finger fillet," before placing his hand on top of a crate while staring directly into Two-Face's eyes as he began to perfectly stab the blade between his fingers so quickly his hand was just a blur. "This is one of my favorite games to play when I'm bored or waiting for something. It also helps with muscle memory, pain tolerance, and hand eye coordination. For beginners anyway."

"Well, I prefer to keep all my fingers."

"Nonsense, try it," He said as he pulled the knife away from his unscathed hand and flipped it, so he held the blade as he passed it to Two-Face. As Two-Face reached for the knife, Deathstroke grabbed hold of his arm and yanked him forward, stabbing the knife into his back before throwing him at Bane. "Think you can trick me!?" he growled as he drew his sword.

Bane smacked Two-Face out of his way as he stepped forward barking out, "You're too smart for your own good, Slade!"

Deathstroke punched the behemoth in the gut, knocking the air out of him before saying, "Just talented."

Deadshot pulled the trigger as he finally had an opening, aiming for Deathstroke's head. With perfect timing the mercenary turned, causing the bullet to hit Bane in the shoulder and fill him with elephant tranquilizers. "Deadshot, you idiota!" Bane roared.

"Four rounds left," Deadshot replied as he took aim again.

"Really?" Deathstroke sarcastically asked, dodging Black Spider's attacks before he punched her in the jaw. "Be a shame if I," then he spun out of the way as Deadshot fired once more, "Dodged them," he finished.

"How the hell is he doing that!?" Deadshot growled before saying, "Manta, where the hell are you!? Doe, get in and provide backup!"

"Way ahead of you," Onomatopoeia replied as he ran down the fire escape.

"On my way," Black Manta said as he rose out of the pier and onto the dock with his jetpack.

Killer Frost dashed at Deathstroke and attempted to grab his helmet, only for him to jump backwards and cut off the top of her middle three fingers as he turned to block a strike from Black Spider. Frost screamed in pain as she held her gushing finger stumps, before Deathstroke threw Black Spider at her, knocking both to the ground.

Bane stood up behind him, Venom flowing through his veins to increase his muscle mass and pain resistance. Deathstroke turned only to be struck square in the chest by him, sending him back into a recovering Black Spider. Deathstroke was back to his feet almost immediately, running towards Bane as he held his sword to the side. Bane attempted to punch him again, only for Deathstroke to weave under his arm and cut one of his Venom tubes off, spilling the drug onto the pavement.

Bane turned as Deadshot fired once more, aiming at Deathstroke's shoulder. He watched as with impossible reflexes Deathstroke rose his sword upwards, deflecting the bullet back into Bane's forearm. He then jumped onto Bane's shoulders and cut the other tube from his neck before jumping down to fight Black Spider as Bane attempted to stop his Venom from shooting out.

Black Spider attempted to kick Deathstroke in the head only for him to grab her foot before it connected. Thirty feet away Black Manta clenched his fists and braced his body as he unleashed a red optical blast. Deathstroke threw Black Spider to the ground and raised his sword before stabbing doward at her throat. Before the blade could touch her Black Manta's blast hit him, knocking him ten feet away and scorching his armor while his sword fell next to Black Spider.

"Thanks for the assist, Manta," Black Spider said as she picked herself up and claimed Deathstroke's sword for herself.

He nodded to her as he stepped up alongside her, preparing for another blast. Behind Deathstroke, Two-Face rose to his feet, and produced a magnum from within his coat. He stepped forward, as he pulled a coin from his pocket. Deathstroke began to rise as Deadshot set him in his crosshairs and fired. The bullet cracked open the lower half of his helmet and ripped open his mask before embedding in his jaw, releasing the tranquilizer. The sound of the shot startled Two-Face, making him drop his coin, only for Deathstroke to grab it from the air as he rose to his feet, seemingly unaffected by his wound.

He looked down at the coin in his head then turned to Two-Face and said, "Tails. Guess that means you get to live, right?"

Two-Face rose his magnum and fired twice, hitting Deathstroke in the chest and cracking his armor, but failed to pierce it. The Terminator stalked forward, drawing the knife from his back. Once more Two-Face attempted, but this time the gun jammed, producing only a small click.

"Ah, shit," he said to himself.

"Shit is right," Deathstroke replied as he reached him.

Deathstroke grabbed Two-Face's right arm and pulled him forward before stabbing him in the side of the ribs as his face fell over Deathstroke's shoulder and he groaned in pain. Then Deathstroke pulled the knife from his back and pushed him forward, stabbing him in the gut. Deathstroke grabbed the knife in his ribs and ripped it out before taking hold of Two-Face's left arm and pulling it straight, before he stabbed the knife through the bottom of his elbow. Two-Face let out a scream of pain before Deahstroke tore the other knife out of him, causing him to gasp as blood spilled out, and stabbed it into the top of his elbow. Deathstroke then took hold of both knives and pulled them to opposite sides, cutting Two-Face's arm nearly completely off as he screamed in pure agony.

Deathstroke pulled both knives back and prepared to stab Two-Face through the eyes, before his vision turned bright yellow and a word appeared with the accompanying sound effect, "POP!" as Onomatopoeia punched him the back of the head.

"What the hell!?" Deathstroke growled as he spun around, and Two-Face fell to the ground still screaming in pain as he held his severed limb.

Onomatopoeia cocked his head before Deathstroke's vision went bright red and another word appeared along with its sound, "CR-ACK!" as Onomatopoeia punched him in his injured jaw, splitting his helmet open and knocking it off his head.

Deathstroke spit out blood before the bullet fell out of his jaw, the tranquilizer all drained, and the wound slowly healed. "Meta-human, huh?" he asked as he drew the handgun from his chest.

His vision went yellow again, this time he saw, "YANK!" along with a comical sound as Onomatopoeia snatched the gun from his hand. Before he could react, his vision went bubblegum pink and faced the words, "BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!" in quick succession as Onomatopoeia unloaded the clip into his chest.

Deathstroke fell away panting, looking down at the three bullet holes in his chest while his chest armor barely held together. Onomatopoeia tossed the handgun and stepped towards him, almost skipping. Before he could attack again, Deadshot fired, hitting Deathstroke in the weak point of the armor from where Onomatopoeia attacked.

"I'm going to kill… all of you…" Deathstroke panted.

The rest of Taskforce X, except for Deadshot and Two-Face, surrounded Deathstroke. Black-Spider and Bane cracked their knuckles, Killer Frost created an ice dagger in her right hand, Black Manta charged for a blast, and Onomatopoeia cracked his neck to which they all saw white with the words and sounds, "CCCRACK! POP!"

Then they all began to attack Deathstroke, Black Manta firing his blast at point blank rage, Bane hitting him in the head with full force, Black Spider stomping on his gut as Killer Frost stabbed him in his arm while Onomatopoeia laid into him with kicks to the ribs, without any effects.

"Lay off him," Deadshot ordered as he stepped up behind them. He then placed his finger to his earpiece and said, "Waller. This is Deadshot. We've acquired the target, injured, but alive. No casualties, but several injuries. Not sure if Dent will make it."

"Understood, Deadshot," Amanda replied from her office back at Detention Center X. "Try and keep Two-Face alive, we need his mob connections. A helicopter will be there to transport your team and prisoner back to the Detention Center for debriefing."

"Roger, ma'am. Over and out."


	5. Flash of Lightning

In the year 1206 on the lost island of Themyscira, two twin sisters were created by the Amazonian queen Hippolyta. One was sculpted from white clay, and the other black clay. The daughter sculpted from white clay was called Dianna, while her sister was named Nubia. They grew together, fought together, laughed together, learned together, and championed together. As war came to Themyscira, both were named Wonder Woman. One would journey into the world of man to prevent its annihilation at the hands of the war god Ares, while the other stayed behind to protect Themyscira.

As princess Diana ventured into what the man Steve Trevor called "The Second Great War," Nubia stood alongside her sisters as the forces of the Underworld, along with mixed units of German and Italian fascists attempted to invade. They would be successful in their attempts, but Diana would not return for many years.

She finally returned in 1962, distraught. She told her sister of how the man she grew to love, Steve Trevor, was a monster. A war criminal. Of how his once honorable fighting had turned sadistic and cruel, and he murdered prisoners and civilians in a country called Vietnam. Nubia comforted her sister as best she could, but two decade of absence had pushed them apart.

Diana soon left again, this time exploring the world instead of protecting it, as a simple woman. With her role as Wonder Woman forsaken, it was Nubia's responsibility to protect both the world of man and her home. Diana would not reclaim her role until 2010, when the world of man was introduced to meta-humans. Once more Nubia remained alone, protecting her home as Diana protected mankind.

One day her mother called her to the throne room, alone even from her bodyguard, Artemis. It was clear that something was wrong, she bore great sorrow on her face. Nubia could tell it wasn't for the death of any person, but for a great tragedy to come.

Hippolyta said, "Nubia, my daughter… once more war comes to us. This time I fear it won't just be Themyscira. It will be our entire planet, the world of man, of gods and monsters. All will be forced to join together. Even then, I fear it won't be enough."

"What is it, mother?" Nubia asked. "What could possibly threaten our entire planet? Ares?"

"No, even Ares will be on our side this time… the monster that comes for us is called Apokolips, and it may be the death of us all."

Barry Allen ran across the streets of Central City in nothing more than a blur, passing by speeding cars without them even realizing he was there. Next to him ran Wally West, who turned and stuck out his tongue before running forward, finishing the race ten seconds before Barry would.

"Wow you're slow," Wally said as he cracked his back.

"I let you win," Barry replied.

"Sure you did. Just like you let me win the last three times."

"I told you, best six out of eleven."

Barry was tall and lean, although still somewhat muscular, standing at 6'0. He had pale skin and spiky blond hair that usually fell over his blue eyes but was now held back by his mask. He wore a red costume with gold gloves and boots, along with a pair of gold lightning wings on his mask. On his chest is a lightning emblem with a white background.

Wally was eight years younger than Barry, being only sixteen, and was a third of a foot shorter than him. He had light black skin and bright brown eyes, along with red hair that rose out of his mask. He dressed in a yellow costume with red pants, yellow boots, and red gloves. On his chest is a red lightning emblem with no background.

"You boys are fast," said a voice behind them, and they turned to see an old man in a red shirt and blue jeans. "Faster than I ever was."

"Uh, who are you?" Wally asked.

"Wally, meet Jay," Barry introduced. "The original Flash."

Jay Garrick was tall and thin, standing at 5'11. His eyes were a similar shade of blue as Barry's, while his hair was nearly completely white, having once been brown. Jay was ninety years old but looked like he was in his sixties. His slow aging came from the Speedforce, which granted all three of the Flashes their powers.

Jay smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Wally."

"Nice to meet you too, Jay," Wally replied, extending his hand for Jay to shake. "Wait, how did you get your powers then? We both got it from the collider exploding."

Jay was silent for a moment before saying, "You know, I'm really not sure. I was out jogging one night, then suddenly got hit by a bolt of lightning out of nowhere. It was 1940, so it's not like someone made a collider in their basement."

"Wait, 1940!? How old are you?"

"I'm a few months shy of ninety-one."

"Wow! That's unbelievable!"

"Heh, thanks Wally. I think I wear it well."

Metropolis

Billy Batson was fourteen years old, and an orphan. Though he had recently been adopted by the Vasquez family, he didn't fit in with them, and as such hated them for taking him in. All he wanted was to be alone. Up until he was given super powers by an ancient wizard in a cave that basically kidnapped him. Ever since then he began to do good as best he could, which was a very difficult thing to do as a teenage boy. Mostly he just stopped crimes with far too much strength.

Billy is a short boy, standing at just 5'4. He has short jet-black hair and brown eyes with pale brown skin. He has a sharp nose and jaw, along with a small scar on his upper lip from a schoolyard fight. He typically dressed in his red hoodie and a pair of jeans, which was what he was wearing on this night.

The last thing he expected to find that night was to come to face with his own rival, who he didn't even know existed. His name is Black Adam, the ruler of Khandaq. Adam stood exactly six feet tall and was covered in muscles. He had dark brown skin and deep brown eyes with a shaved head of black hair. He dressed in a form fitting black and gold outfit with a gold lightning emblem on his chest. On his back he wore a black cape with a gold outline that attached to his shoulders.

"Billy Batson, champion of the Wizard," he growled as he towered over Billy.

"Uh… hi?" Billy asked, slowly stepping away from him.

"Say his name, Billy. Summon your powers."

"My mom told me never to talk to strangers. So, I'm gonna go."

"You will go nowhere!"

"Okay! I won't go nowhere!"

"Are you mocking me, boy!?"

"No! I don't even know the meaning of that word!"

"You're testing me, boy. Now say it… SHAZAM!" With that Adam was struck by a bolt of yellow lightning, cracking the ground beneath him and casting flames onto the pavement. "SAY THAT WORD!"

"SHAZAM!" Billy yelled, causing himself to be struck by a blue lightning bolt.

The ground cracked beneath him less than Adam and created no fire. He rose to the height of 6'3 and his hair parted itself while he became more muscular than Adam. He wore a white and red outfit mirroring Adam's almost identically, with the exception of a hood on his white cape.

Black Adam gave Billy no more words before he attacked, striking at Billy's jaw. Billy dodged back with the speed of Mercury, just barely managing to avoid Adam's punch. Adam wasn't deterred and continued to punch at Billy, who just barely managed to avoid each hit, each one leaving behind a small wave of electricity.

"Dude, like, what's your problem!?" Billy asked in a deep voice that sounded nothing like his normal voice.

"You are the Wizard's new champion!?" Black Adam asked. "You refuse to fight! You are nothing!" with that Adam suddenly flew forward, colliding with Billy before slamming him into the side of a building.

"Ow! That hurt you dick!" Billy said as he picked himself up, only to be successfully punched in the jaw. "That's it," he growled, before punching Adam in the nose.

Adam fell away, blood gushing from his nose, before he recomposed himself and smiled. "Much better…" he said in a sinister tone, before flying directly up in the air.

"Running from a fight!? Coward!" Billy yelled after him, before following.

As Billy flew close to Adam, the man turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs, "SHAZAM!" bringing down a bolt of yellow lightning that hit both of them, scorching Billy.

"Ow…" Billy moaned before he realized his shoulder was on fire. "Shit shit shit!" he cursed as he quickly pat the flames out.

"A child… why would he pick A CHILD AS HIS CHAMPION!?" Adam roared, pulling back his arm as a bolt of yellow lightning appeared in his hand.

"Wait can I do that?" Billy asked, just before Adam threw it.

Billy dodged the lightning and laughed as it sailed past him, before colliding with a building and destroying its top three floors. Before he could say anything Adam him from behind, sending him flying down to the ground where he collided with the road, leaving behind a small crater.

Adam landed in front of him, laughing to himself as he charged a blast of lightning. From behind him came a deep and oddly kind voice saying, "Hi there!"

He turned saying, "Who dares," before a fist slammed into his lower jaw and sent him flying upwards. Adam recovered in mid air and prepared to attack before realizing his jaw was shattered. He thought to himself, "I won't forget this," then flew away, returning to his palace in Khandaq.

"Are you okay?" the voice asked.

Billy looked up and his eyes went wide as his mouth fell open. Standing before him was Superman, dressed in a bright blue costume with red gloves, boots, and cape. On his chest was a red "S" symbol with a shield shaped outline around it, and yellow filling in the spaces between the S. He was awe inspiring, like a god among men.

"Y-yeah," Billy said as he pulled himself up.

"Then what were you thinking!?" Superman asked him, his voice stern and serious. "Someone could have got hurt, or worse!"

"Sorry…" Billy whispered, looking away.

"You should know better than this! Don't start fights in the city, don't be so reckless, and learn your powers before using them in a fight!"

"I'm sorry… shazam…" with that Billy was struck by a blue bolt of lightning, removing his super hero persona and revealing the small boy underneath.

"You're… a kid…" Superman said, stepping closer.

"I'm not a kid! I'm fourteen!" Billy retorted.

"Listen, I know you've got some great powers. That lightning thing? Awesome. But you can't go putting yourself in danger."

"You do it all the time! Like when you punched that robot so hard you blew him up!"

"I'm also an adult. It's my responsibility, you still have to learn how to use your powers."

"But it is my responsibility! That's what the Wizard said!"

"The Wizard?"

"He's the one that gave me my powers! He said I was chosen by a higher power!"

"I see… what's your name, son?"

"Billy. Billy Batson."

"Nice to meet you, Billy. My name's Clark. Can you take me to this… Wizard?"

"Uh, sure. I think I have to be touching you for it. And it's probably going to hurt."

"I'll be fine."

Billy but his hand on Clark's shoulder before taking a deep breath and said, "Shazam."

Both of them disappeared in a strike of blue lightning and reappeared in an electric cloud in a large cavern, with Billy now in his super hero form. Clark looked around, seeing the cave decrepit and devoid of any signs of life all the way through the mountain it was carved into. Then his eyes fell upon a stone throne, with a frail old man dressed in a dusty brown robe sitting upon it.

"I take it you're the Wizard?" Clark asked, stepping towards him.

"Yes. And you are Clark Kent, although that's not your birth name, is it?"

"Billy, cover your ears."

"Yes sir," Billy said as he put his hands on his ears and turned around.

Clark stood directly in front of the Wizard as he said, "What the hell is wrong with you!? You gave a CHILD powers, then sent him out into the world alone!? He was attacked tonight by someone just like him, who I take it you knew about!?"

"Black Adam, my first champion…"

"Why would you do that!? He's just a CHILD! He shouldn't have to bear this burden!"

"The child was angry, uncaring. I made him care for others."

"You could have KILLED HIM! No child should have to worry about saving others! Super powers shouldn't be a punishment for being angry!"

"It worked, did it not?"

"He could have died. He could be attacked at any point again now and die all because of you. Why would you do that to someone, least of all a little boy?"

"I am NOT little!" Billy yelled from across the cave.

"Hands on your ears, Billy!" Clark ordered before turning back to the Wizard. "Protect him. Train him if you have to. But don't leave him alone. He doesn't deserve that."

"And why should I listen to you, Clark Kent? I have been chosen by the gods themselves."

"I don't care what any god thinks, if I find out you put Billy in danger again… I'll beat your ass until you wish they chose someone else," with that said Clark turned and walked towards Billy. "Come on, Billy. Let's get you home. I'm sure you have a family worried about you."

"Alright, Superman," Billy shyly said.

"I told you," he replied with a smile. "Call me Clark,"


	6. Lesser Heroes

Though the title of "smartest man in the world" is widely debated, the man most worthy of that title may very well be Michael Holt, or his alias Mister Terrific. Michael stands at 6'2 and has a similar build to Bruce Wayne, with nearly an identical mastery of martial arts. Michael has dark black skin and light brown eyes that are nearly always covered by white lenses identical to the Batman's, as he was the one who made them. On his face is a large dark grey T symbol whose arms spread over his eyes. This symbol is made of millions of nanomachines, while his white and black "latex" suit is made of billions.

Michael stands in his office writing calculations on a holographic board, before screaming startles him. He wastes no time running out into the hall, towards the room where the screaming came from. He opens the door to what he knew he would find but is dismayed none the less.

On an observation table, a teenage girl lies screaming as random parts of her body turn nearly invisible, and others disappear completely. Her black hair had turned white some time ago, before Michael had ever found her. Her brown eyes come and go, while her pale skin's tone is nearly impossible to identify. Then just like that, she's whole and remains idle, breathing heavily as she stares up at the ceiling.

"It's okay, Linnya," Michael reassured her, squeezing her hand. "It was only twelve seconds. You're still here. You're safe."

Linnya's breathing slowed before she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep. "They're gettin more frequent," came an annoying voice from behind him.

Michael turned to see the black goggles and pink lips of the Plastic Man hovering in the air, stretching into the room from some other part of the lab. "What do you want, Plas?" Michael asked, standing up and walking back towards his office.

"Just checkin in. She's loud," Plastic Man said as his face followed Michael.

"She's phasing in and out of reality. Do you expect her to be quiet during that?"

"Well! No, I guess not… you figure out how to fix her yet?"

"Not yet. I'm working on a device that will anchor her to this reality, but I have no idea if it will work. On top of that, it may very well rip a hole in our universe, leading to one of many other universes. The consequences of that could be small, nothing more than a portal, or even just a window. Or, it could cause our world to be invaded. Or, it could destroy both universes."

"Uh… I'll let you get back to it then."

"You do that."

As Michael returned to his office, another meta-human waited for him. Metamorpho, the element man. With a head of steel, a chest of rubber, a left arm of plastic, a right arm of titanium, a right leg of vines, and a left leg of copper. He would be a strange sight for most others, but Michael wasn't surprised to see him.

"Hello, Met," Michael greeted as he returned to his hologram.

"Good mornin, Terrific," Metamorph said.

"It's not morning, is it?"

"Nine thirty or so. Have you slept?"

"Nine? I haven't slept for three days then."

"Christ mate, you've gotta sleep. It won't kill you. Quite the opposite in fact."

"True, but I've been busy. What do you want, Met?"

"I've been practicing my powers like ya told me. I can make other things change now too. Want to see?"

Michael turned and with a small smile said, "Sure. Show me what you've got."

Metamorpho picked a pen up off Michael's desk and began to focus on it, slowly turning it green until a flower began to grow on it, spreading wide white petals. "Got about sixteen more of 'em in me room."

"That IS impressive. Have you tried making anything else?"

"Er, no…"

"That's alright. Creating life would most likely be one of the more difficult things to make. How about… you focus on making normal household objects for a bit, then changing the flowers into say, light bulbs?"

"You've got it, boss! See you as lunch?"

"Sure. I may run late though."

"Aight! See you later then," and with that Metamorpho left Michael alone to work in peace.

Ted Grant was a former member of the Justice Society of America and continued to be a hero well into his nineties. Like Jay Garrick he looked and felt younger than he was, though his reason for this was a simple curse he received back in the 70's. Now he was considered a vigilante by Star City law enforcement, but he choked it up to the cops being mad someone was doing their job for them.

Ted was massive, standing six and a half feet tall, and was a wall of pure muscle. He had jet black hair despite his age, and crystal blue cat like eyes. He dressed in dark blue fatigues and bandages wrapped over his hands and forearms, while a blue ceramic mask similar to the Batman's with a more cat like appearance. After all, his superhero name had been Wildcat.

There were a few heroes in Star City, all young ones. Ted reminisced over the old days, when no one was afraid of roughing up a few bank robbers. Now everyone had rights, and he couldn't legally break their arms anymore. Still, it's not like anyone could arrest him. Not without half the police department on their side anyway.

Wildcat stalked the nights, operating less through fear and more on violence. Though, as he found it, violence makes someone more scared than basic fear tactics ever could. But as he grew older, he was able to fight less frequently, and was only able to spend an hour or two a night out before he grew too tired.

On this night however, he would find his first real fight in years. He followed the sound of someone begging for mercy, and the familiar sound of someone being beaten with a baseball bat, to find a sight that made him tear up from how beautiful it was. A man in a hockey mask and Wild Dogs jersey stood beating down a Russian mobster with his wooden bat, spilling his blood onto the ground.

"That's enough, kid. He's paid up," Wildcat said as he approached him.

Wild Dog turned to look at Wildcat and said, "Who the hell are you?"

"Who the hell am I!?" Wildcat asked, his anger rising. "Who the hell are you!? I've been kicking ass since before your daddy was born!"

"Sure you have. Now piss off, old man. I'm not done here."

"No one calls me old man…"

With that Wildcat charged forward, punching Wild Dog in the gut. Wild Dog breathed harshly as the air got knocked out of him, and he stumbled backwards by a few feet. Then before Wildcat expected, he recovered and returned the blow with a strike to the side of the head using his bat, knocking Wildcat to the ground.

Wild Dog raised his bat in the air and brought it down on Wildcat's head, splitting the bat in half and cracking the mask. Wild Dog threw the bat to the side as Wildcat recovered, before punching Wildcat square in the jaw. This time Wildcat returned the favor by grabbing hold of Wild Dog's arm and pulling him to the ground, before elbowing him in the back of the head.

Both of them rose to their feet, shrugging off the attacks of the other, before they began to exchange blows. Wild Dog punched Wildcat in the gut before being hit in the middle of his face. Wildcat then hit him in his ribs before Wild Dog hit him in the throat. Wildcat retorted by headbutting him, cracking open Wild Dog's hockey mask while Wildcat's mask shattered, revealing a blue bandanna with wide eye holes cut in it covering his face.

Wild Dog then tackled him, knocking Wildcat to the ground before he began to lay into him with punch after punch. Wildcat retorted by punching Wild Dog in the chest while pinned to the ground, before hitting him in the jaw, knocking him off of him. Once more they rose to their feet, slower than before.

Wildcat chuckled and spit out blood before asking, "You alright, kid?"

"Fuck off, you old prick," Wild Dog replied.

"Heh, I like that attitude. Want to do this again some time?"

"What!?" Wild Dog asked, looking at the vigilante in confusion.

"I haven't had a rival in over twenty years. It's been forever since I was really able to fight someone, have us kick the shit out of each other. I missed that."

"Sounds kind of fun actually… beating you was the most exciting thing that's happened since I started taking out these mobsters."

"You didn't beat me. We tied."

"Sure we did."

"Name's Ted," he said as he extended his hand.

"Jack," Wild Dog replied, shaking it.

"How's next Friday work, same time, same place?"

"Sounds good to me."

While Wildcat and Wild Dog befriended each other, across the city Oliver Queen dawned his costume. He dressed in a green and black outfit similar to Robin Hood, with the hood part taken literally. He wore a domino mask over his eyes and made sure to style his blond beard, so it looked sharp and eccentric before leaving.

Walking next to him was his sidekick, Speedy, who hated that name. His real name was Roy Harper, and he was seventeen. Despite this he was still the world's second greatest archer. He dressed in an outfit similar to Oliver's, with red instead of green, and a yellow hat with a red feather sticking out of it instead of a hood.

They would take to the roof tops, patrolling for signs of crime. Star City was seemingly becoming safer with every night, and they would find almost nothing, aside from a few petty crimes that didn't warrant their intervention. Later that night, Oliver would consider putting up the mantle. To him, it seemed as though he had succeeded in his original mission of making the city safe for everyone.

The Ragman rose up from the factory floor, bullets falling to the ground beneath him as they slipped through the rags that made up his body. It was practically impossible to determine where clothing began on him, as random pieces of fabric overlapped each other into the form of a person. The one clear part of his costume was a patchwork cloak made primarily of grays and a few browns, whose hood fell over a stained cloth face mask.

Falcone stood in front of him, staring in disbelief as his smoking tommy gun rested limply in his hand. Then he recomposed himself and ordered, "Blow that freak apart!"

Five mobsters stepped forward, raising tommy guns, before unloading their drums into Ragman. Bullets entered and exited his body harmlessly, doing little more than tearing the clothes that made up his body. Once more he fell to the ground as they continued shooting him. The only part of his outfit they failed to injure was his cloak, which caused the bullets to harmlessly fall away from it.

Again the Ragman rose up, this time stepping towards Falcone. He said, "Carmine Falcone. You are pure evil. You don't deserve to live. Embrace your fate in The Cloak of Souls for a reduced sentence of only five hundred years."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Falcone asked, tossing his tommy gun to the side as he drew a handgun from within his coat.

"Hm… very well. A thousand years it is."

Before Ragman could take another step forward, a sword cut through Falcone's back and exited out his chest, before raising him up in the air. Falcone looked down at the blade in disbelief, before a boot pressed against his back and pushed him off, spilling his blood onto the ground. His blood pooled around him as he slowly bled out, his killer standing over him while his men and Ragman stared in shock.

Azrael stood 6'2 and was covered in armor that made it impossible to figure out how muscular he was. He wore leather under chainmail, that was then covered in a white robe and cloak, before several pieces of plated armor covered him, as well as what was more of a mask than a helmet. On his chest was a large haphazardly painted red cross, and several smaller crosses were randomly painted across his cloak. His gauntlets turned his fingers to claws, while his left gauntlet had a set of curved blades sticking out of them. He stared at Ragman with crystal blue eyes that were devoid of mercy.

With no warning Azrael dived forward and cut the arms off one of Falcone's goons, sparking Ragman to move to another, his rags extending forward like vines to wrap around him. A moment later he was pulled inside The Cloak of Souls, while Azrael was already cutting the head off his third goon. As Ragman stood up, his victim entirely absorbed, Azrael cut the final goon completely in half just as he finished reloading.

Azrael turned and looked over Ragman before simply stating, "Hebrew."

"Catholic," Ragman retorted.

"My orders were for Falcone and his followers. Not you, Hebrew."

"You know, when you say it like that, it sounds almost like a slur."

"Leave. Or I WILL kill you."

"I'm not one much for fighting, especially not when my opponent has what I just assume is a magic sword, but you've got a major attitude that needs adjusting."

"You wish to fight me?"

"If you don't shut up."

Azrael considered for a moment before saying, "My work here is done," then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Ragman alone.

"Dick."


	7. Kara Zor-El

A blue portal opened over Earth, and two vessels emerged before the portal closed. The attention of Stormwatch was immediately gained, who unsuccessfully attempted to communicate with either vessel. Both fell to the Earth, going their separate ways upon entry. Stormwatch quickly assembled two teams to reach both vessels before anyone else.

The first vessel, which was simply a pod, crashed in the streets of Metropolis, while the second, a strange crystal shaped vessel, crashed in the remote reaches of Antartica. Of course, Stormwatch isn't the only one with satellites watching for alien contact. Lex Corp detected the vessels thirteen seconds after them, while Wayne Tech detected them 2.6 seconds after them.

Bruce Wayne stood next to J'onn J'onzz in the Batcave as Alfred sat at the Batcomputer, watching them in disbelief, and Dick Grayson watched them with intense curiosity as he ate a bag of Bat Oreos (Wayne Tech bought the cookie in 1992). Bruce asked J'onn, "So how did you get here exactly?"

J'onn replied, "The late doctor Erdel attempted to create a device that would let him peer into Mars, only it worked better than he imagined. As a sort of time machine and teleporter at once. From what I can tell, I'm at least a thousand years into the future. It was quite a shock to see just how much humanity evolved since then."

"I see. Can we contact your race?"

"I'm afraid not. I am… the last of my kind."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry."

"Terribly sorry for your loss, sir," Alfred said almost automatically.

"It is okay. It happened a long time ago… you, young man," J'onn said, turning to Dick.

"Who, me?" Dick asked through a mouth of Oreos.

"What is that you're eating?"

"Uh, Oreos…"

"May I have some?"

"Sure," Dick replied, handing him the bag.

J'onn ate an Oreo and immediately his face lit up with joy before he said, "This is the greatest thing I have ever tasted. Your people must be proud of you, boy."

"Oh they are," Dick smugly said.

"Well," Bruce said, while glaring at Dick. "You seem to understand how to fit in fairly well. Although you also picked a face that half the country recognizes. What do you look like in your normal form?"

J'onn silently reverted to his normal Martian form, causing silence from everyone before Dick simply said, "Wow."

"However," J'onn said. "I noticed your people have a high amount of respect for your "super heroes," especially Superman. I think this form will be more acceptable, and not hide my Martian heritage.

A dark blue cape extended from J'onn's shoulders while he began to take a more humanoid form. His claws became fingers, his feet boots that matched his cape. His head shape changed to that of a typical human's, while a nose extended from his face and a fairly normal human mouth opened up. Then a red and blue harness with a gold buckle appeared on his chest.

"Kinky," said Dick.

"Master Grayson!" Alfred hissed.

"Sorry…" Dick replied, looking away in shame.

"Well," said Bruce. "It probably won't scare people. That's good."

"I even have an alias, like you use," J'onzz said with a smile.

"What is it?"

"On my world I was a manhunter, similar to your police officers, although less violent. Here I shall be called Martian Manhunter, to honor my past and heritage."

"It's got a nice ring to it," Dick chimed up.

"I must agree with master Grayson," Alfred said.

Suddenly Lucius Fox's deep voice filled Bruce's ear saying, "Mister Wayne, there's some type of ship heading towards Metropolis."

"Understood," Bruce replied. "Call Clark Kent and let him know. I'm on my way."

"The reporter?"

"Yeah. He'll know what to do with the info."

"Understood, mister Wayne."

Bruce turned back to J'onzz and said, "I have to go, it's an emergency. I'll be back as soon as possible. In the meantime, Dick and Alfred will help you get used to Earth."

"Understood," J'onzz replied.

"So…" Dick slyly said. "You ever seen Kill Bill?"

"Master Grayson!" Alfred hissed once more.

"I'm joking!" Dick laughed.

Metropolis

Mild mannered reporter Clark Kent sat at his desk, sipping a mug of tea as he reviewed his latest report on the fall of crime over the past year. Next to him sat his partner, Lois Lane, who was reviewing her own report on Superman. She was a short and thin woman with black hair and brown eyes, and an insatiable curiosity.

Suddenly Lois turned her laptop around so Clark could see it, revealing a close-up picture of Superman as she said, "You're Superman! I knew it!"

Clark took another sip of tea then turned to her and said, "Lois. That's racist."

"I… what?"

"Not all black people look the same, Lois."

"I'm not saying all, just you two! I mean,"

"I get it. You don't see a lot of black superheroes. But that doesn't mean the only black reporter you know is also the only black superhero."

"Fuck… sorry…"

"It's alright. I forgive you. Just don't try to say Perry is Superman. It'll either give him an ego boost, or he'll fire you."

Clark's phone rang and he quickly answered it. Before he could even say hello, Lucius said, "Mister Kent, a spacecraft is about to crash in the middle of Lex street."

Lucius immediately hung up, leaving Clark silent for just a moment. He then said to Lois, "I've got to meet my mom for lunch. I'll be back in an hour."

"Have fun!" Lois called as he ran towards the exit.

Once outside he ducked into a corner and began to pull off his suit, revealing his Superman costume underneath. Then he took flight, gravity taking almost no effect on him as he soared through the air. It took him seconds to arrive at Lex street, before the ship had crashed, and instead was falling down towards the busy road.

Superman flew up and grabbed hold of the still flaming pod, and for a moment it pushed him back before it slowed to a stop. He landed with the ship still in his hands, and cars stopped around him to watch in fascination. Overhead the Batplane flew, releasing The Batman onto the street below. For the citizens of Metropolis, this was a fairly normal, but still very interesting situation.

Neither Superman or Batman would know that the following day, there would be sixteen different news groups discussing how the two of them were clearly in love. Of the two, only Batman took note of the three Stormwatch members silently watching them from the crowds.

The first was Grifter, formerly Cole Cash. He now dressed in a dark green duster over his white Stormwatch body armor, with his bandana mask hanging from his neck. Next to him was Zealot, a white haired but otherwise human looking alien masking her armor with a tan trench coat. Behind them stood Spartan, a cyborg with red hair and green eyes, with a bright blue armored body badly masked by generic tourist's clothes.

The Batman said, "Can you see inside the ship?"

"Yeah," Superman replied. "It's a girl. Human looking… no, that's not right. She's like me."

"Kryptonian?"

"How do you? No, more specific… she's wearing a shirt that has my symbol on it."

"You sure it's not from Earth?"

"Not unless they're mass producing shirts made of metal silk."

"Open it."

Superman placed his hands beneath the canopy and pressed his fingers against it, pushing past the metal and under the glass, before raising it up. Kara stirred from her unconscious state, the bright sun blinding her. The first thing she saw on Earth, as she blinked the light of her eyes, was the sigil of the house of El, worn by a tall and muscular person whose face she could barely see.

"Jor-El?" she asked, pushing herself up.

"Jor-El?" Superman asked in reply. "No that's… my father…"

Kara's eyes went wide as she realized who she was looking at before she began to say, "No… no that's not possible! That's not possible! Who are you!?"

Superman raised his hands to show her he was no threat and said, "Easy. My name is… Kal-El. Who are you?"

"Kara… Kara Zor-El…"

"Zor-El?"

"I'm your cousin, Kal-El… your older cousin."

"Oh."

"Yeah… oh."

"Help her out," Batman ordered from the ground.

Superman gave Kara his hand and helped her out of the pod before she safely touched down on the street. She said, "I feel… weird. So light…"

"It's alright," Superman reassured her. "Our bodies work differently here. We're stronger. And we have a bunch of powers. I'll help you learn about them."

Kara laughed and said, "I was supposed to be the one teaching you… whose this?" she asked as she saw the Batman.

"Oh this is," Superman began before Batman cut him off.

"A friend. I think we should take her back to the Batcave. Make sure she's okay before we take our next step."

"Sounds good," Superman replied.

"I'm sorry, but what's the Batcave?" Kara asked.

"It's where I live," Batman replied, clicking a button on his belt to summon the Batplane.

"It's full of bats," Superman added.

"What's a bat?" Kara asked.

"Oh… wow, we have a LOT to teach you about Earth."

Gotham

As the Batman walked along the bridge towards the Batcomputer, Superman and Kara touched down on the platform behind him. Once Kara balanced herself, they began to follow Batman, while Alfred greeted him.

"I see you have guests," Alfred said. "Shall I fetch the china?"

"No," Batman replied. "Where's dick and J'onzz?"

"Master Grayson thought it would be fun to show him, and I quote, "how to fight like a boss," and took him to the dojo to practice his martial arts."

"How's it going?"

"Last I checked, master Grayson won six rounds of seven."

"Um, hello!" Kara said from behind them."

"Ah, a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Alfred said, taking a bow. "You as well, sir. My name is Alfred Pennyworth, and I am pleased to take care of your any needs."

"My name is Kara Zor-El," Kara introduced herself with a smile.

"And I'm Clark Kent," Superman introduced himself with a similar smile. "Though I take it you already knew that?"

"Yes," Alfred replied. "Master Bruce learned your secret identity two days after your first debut. He was quite pleased with that."

"Wait," said Kara. "Clark Kent?"

Superman put his hand over his mouth as he thought for a second then lowered it and said, "After I arrived here, I was adopted by the Kents. They named me Clark."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess… sorry this is all just… so much to take in."

"So, I never learned what happened to our home. Do you think you can tell me? It's alright if you can't. I understand it must be really traumatic for me."

"No, it's alright… uncle Jor-El, your father, he started work on a secret project. Ships that could take us to other parts of the universe in minutes. But then Krypton's council said he couldn't do it, that it would make us a target. It turns out there was someone out there, going to every planet with resources and advanced technology, and killing everyone. Then, The Collector came, he only comes to planets when they're already doomed. He took my city of Kandor, I barely got out alive. Everyone else either died… or went with the city. Jor-El finished only three ships before the council sent their enforcers after him. One for you, one for me, and another for The Ark."

"The Ark?" Batman asked.

"It has information about Krypton, a lot of stuff in it… I'm not sure exactly what. It was always top secret. Wherever it landed, it probably started constructing a fortress to house everything."

"I see…" Batman said, turning and putting his hand to his ear. "Alfred, call Lucius. I need information on a second ship."

Superman asked her, "What happened next?"

Kara took a deep breath and continued, "As we were leaving, HE arrived. The one the council was scared of. His army attacked, and I was knocked out of the course while you went through the portal here. It was only about a minute for me, but for you it must have been… twenty years?"

"I'm twenty-two," Superman said.

"I was gone so long… but you have the sigil of El. You know about your heritage?"

"Some of it. Just that my dad sent me here. I wear it because of what it means… I help people. Protect them. I do all I can to keep the world safe."

"That's good to hear," Kara said, looking up at him with a smile.

The Batman returned to them, handing Superman a radar device with a red blinking dot on the far end of it. He said, "The Ark crashed somewhere in Antarctica. Go there, find whatever you need. I have business to attend to."

"Thanks, Bruce," Superman said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Batman replied, turning away. Once Superman and Kara had safely left, he made a small squealing sound.

"Are you okay, master Bruce?" Alfred asked.

"He called me Bruce," Batman replied with a smile.

Antarctica

Kara was beginning to get a hang of flying as they arrived in the snowy tundra, but still Superman made sure to hold tight to her arm. It was another half hour before they found The Ark, but the cold did little to their Kryptonian skin. Not even Kara had expected the sight they found, but both found it magnificent.

Blue crystals rose above the ice and snow, reaching as high as a skyscraper. From the front hung a massive red banner displaying the sigil of the house of El. At first glance the formation of the crystals seemed like a random strange act of nature, but as they studied it, they saw the beauty of the intracity and symmetry.

They descended to the ground where a set of doors waited, which automatically opened as they grew close. The interior walls were made of crystals as well, but there were multiple platforms constructed from various metals, wires connecting to various computers and devices, and dozens of occupied display cases, with various treasures of Krypton held inside.

Most interesting was a completely operational robot, already walking towards them. It was a thin, vaguely humanoid machine with gold plating. It held a circular head with a red lens covering its entire face, that would dim and brighten depending on its emotion. It also held its hands rather nervously as it approached them.

"Hello, master and mistress," it greeted in a rather cute electronic voice. "My name is Kelex-2590105. I am here to assist your every need."

"Hello, Kelex," Kara greeted.

"Nice to meet you," Superman added.

"You as well, sir, ma'am. What can I help you with today?"

Kara asked, "Do you know about our powers?"

"Oh, yes!" Kelex chimed. "I was programmed with approximately 76.662% of your predicted powers in mind, as well as how to properly harness them."

"Oh that's great!"

Suddenly Superman brought his hand to his forehead as he exclaimed, "I forgot about work! Kara, I need to get back to Metropolis! Will you be alright while I go?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine…" Kara replied.

"Okay, good. I'll be back in a few hours, don't worry!" then with that he was gone, speeding towards Metropolis on the other side of the world.

Two hours would pass, before a red portal would open up just outside of Earth's orbit. The portal caused a massive soundwave to spread out, shaking the planet, causing earthquakes across every country in the world in accompany with the massive boom it produced. Even Stormwatch's satellite, along with every other satellite, was jolted through space. Two would be pulled back in by Earth's gravity.

Only one ship would exit the boom tube before it disappeared, with an automated guidance system and no windows. It was only large enough for a few people to occupy, or in this case, a single creature. The ship set its course to Metropolis and began its descent, as its prisoner remained unresponsive in its sleep. But that would change all too soon.

In Antarctica, Kara collapsed to her knees as she heard the familiar boom and felt the ground shake beneath her. Tears slid down her eyes as she realized what it symbolized, and all hope left her. "It's all over already…" she said to herself.


	8. The Miracle of Doomsday

Scott Free was a tall man with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. His height is incalculable by any human means, other than that he's a giant to any planet. To compare dimensions however, he would stand at exactly six feet tall. He has a lean build, and preferred agility over strength, unlike most of the others on Apokolips. He dressed in simple rags, as he was unworthy of the armor worn by almost everyone else on the planet.

Behind Scott was a killbot, a mechanical nightmare of blades and saws. It quickly flew towards him, intent on ripping him apart, only for Scott to step out of the way at the last moment. The killbot flew past, before turning and repeating the process. This time Scott jumped in the air and landed perfectly on top of the machine. He yawned, before kicking down, crushing the killbot's head, killing it.

The machine fell idle to the ground while Scott landed on his feet, perfectly unharmed. Elsewhere an ancient old woman grew angry and pressed a button that caused the floor to drop out from beneath him. just before the floor gave way Scott jumped up and grabbed hold of the grating of the ceiling. The old woman pressed another button, and the grating began to burn hot, quickly turning red.

Scott let go and landed perfectly on the tiny sliver of floor left along the wall. The old woman's anger grew, and she pressed yet another button that caused the walls to begin closing in on him. Scott sighed as he was left with only one option, and he hopped into the darkness below, landing on a sickening wet and mushy surface.

Around him he could hear the snarling of a massive creature, and a moment later he could smell its breath. Scott dodged out of the way as the monster bit at him, weaving through each swipe and snap with ease. The monster grew angry just like the old woman as Scott continuously escaped his doom, so it decided to remain idle and see what Scott did next. This was a mistake.

Though blind, Scott could still conclude where the monster was due to the sounds it made, and as such he knew where he could strike it to hurt. He kicked upwards, hitting it in its jaw so hard its teeth shattered while fragments of bone cut though its gums and the roof of its mouth. It let out a cry of pain before Scott delivered with a punch to what he assumed was its gut, spilling blood over his fist as it cried out in pain. He pulled his arm back, spilling blood onto the ground, before delivering a second punch. This time he grabbed hold of some organ he couldn't decipher and ripped it out, dropping it to the ground as the monster roared in pure agony. Then it fell to the ground, its breathing slowing, before it completely stopped.

A door slid open behind him, casting white light into the darkness that stopped just a few inches from Scott. He turned and looked into the light, realizing just how tired he was, and stepped forward. He wouldn't lower his guard, he would never lower his guard, but he had to know if this was the end of the test. If it was and he didn't investigate, he would be left to rot. If it wasn't, he would be attacked.

Scott stepped out into the light, and his eyes adjusted to the white corridors of the training hall. Granny Goodness waited for him with a scowl on her face. "You finally passed, Scott," she growled.

"Of course I did, Granny," he replied with a smile before she smacked him in the face, splitting open his lip.

"You've been chosen for a mission. Take this," and she presented him with a small black box that glowed with red and yellow light.

"is this a,"

"Mother Box. You're to go to Earth-0 and monitor the effects Doomsday has on the planet. It's full of heroes, but most of them are weak. Return once the monster's dead, or everything else is."

"Yes, Granny."

She turned and left Scott alone, walking to monitor the test of one of her other students. Scott looked down at the box and thought of Earth-0, instantly transporting him to the planet in a yellow and silent boom tube. He stood on the Metropolis fair grounds, as a circus set up camp. He knew what a circus was, he was a New God after all, but he had never seen one. He couldn't help but smile at the bright colors.

Scott watched in silence as the carnies set up tents and booths, before a voice startled him, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

The man was built similarly to Scott and dressed in the most ridiculous outfit he had ever seen. His costume was red and yellow with a seemingly pointless pattern, while his boots and gloves were green. He also wore a long green cape with a large collar, and a red mask with a yellow face and two eye holes that showed no skin.

"Yeah," Scott replied. "I've never seen a circus before."

"Never?"

"Nope. Never had the chance."

"That's a shame. I take it you've never seen an escape artist then?"

"Artist? No. Just escaping."

"Ha, that's funny. We should be ready around ten, how about I buy you a ticket?"

"Sure! That sounds great! Thank you!"

"Don't mention it. You seem like a cool kid. What's your name?"

"Scott Free."

"Ha! Your dad's got a sense of humor."

"No, no he doesn't…"

"Oh, tough spot. Sorry. My name's Thaddeus Brown, though you can call me Mister Miracle."

The ship landed safely on the outskirts of Metropolis. Stormwatch reached it first, with six agents ready to intercept it before anyone else. Lex Corp arrived thirty seconds later, surrounding them with thirty mercenaries. The two groups were at a stand-off, neither wanting to open fire on the first, while each wouldn't let the other have the ship.

Then, there came the loud sound of metal tearing from within the ship. They turned and looked as something began to rip its way out, before the ship's door flew off and completely crushed one of the mercenaries. It stood only seven feet tall but was seemingly made entirely of muscles and was dressed in a dark green suit with red goggles over its eyes.

Both sides began to shoot the monster at once, their guns useless against it. Their bullets bounced off its skin like paper balls, doing little more than ripping up its outfit to reveal light grey skin underneath. It moved quickly, punching one of the Stormwatch agents so hard it rips her in half. It turns to the next and takes hold of his head, completely crushing it beneath its fist. The monster then turns and throws the agent's body into a group of mercenaries, breaking the backs of two and killing one.

It raises both fists over its head and brings them down upon the ground, causing a miniature earthquake that tore apart the ground around them, knocking all the mercenaries and Stormwatch agents to the ground. Several of them twisted their ankles and two broke their legs as they fell, the ground rising up around them before sharply dropping, debris overtaking them. The monster doesn't stop here however, it continues to attack those still moving, ripping them limb from limb with ease.

Screams fill the otherwise silent air as the monster slaughters them all, before finally stopping once all are motionless. One was knocked into a coma from a rock hitting her in the head, two blacked out from fear, and one Stormwatch agent realized the monster reacted to movement and as such held completely still even as it killed her friends. With the current lifeforms dead, the monster moves on, setting its sight on Metropolis. It leaps into the air, damaging the earth below it before it lands in a crater five hundred yards away, the edge of the city just a few feet ahead.

It leaps upwards, crashing through one of the many skyscrapers filling Metropolis. Office workers scream in terror as they begin to run and hide, but already its still late. The monster tears through them without slowing down, crushing them beneath its fists and throwing entire desks at those that try to run. With the entire floor dead it moves towards the window and jumps out, landing on the street below.

The road shatters beneath its feet, sending a car flipping over the monster. It immediately picks the upside-down car off the road and begins to smash it into the road, killing the driver in the first strike, before completely crushing his body and car. Satisfied the monster throws the remains of the car across the street, to where several people stood recording the rampage.

They scatter as soon as they saw it turn to them, but one is still struck by the vehicle, and is completely flattened against the wall behind him. the monster charges forward, crashing into the wall so hard it enters the parking garage and rips open the cloth on its left shoulder, revealing more grey skin and pure white bone jutting out from its body. The monster quckly begins to chase down fleeing civilians, screaming in terror.

A school bus turns a corner just as the monster reaches it, and the children on bored begin to scream as it grabs hold of the rear sides of the bus, lifting it up into the air. A voice cuts through the air, "LEAVE THEM ALONE!" before a spike mace hits the monster in the lower jaw, knocking it free of the bus.

Standing before it is Hawkgirl, already moving in for a second attack. She's short and thin, but muscular, and far stronger than any human. Red hair falls from her hawk shaped helmet that emphasized her piercing brown eyes, forged from Nth metal. Tattoos depicting her past lives cascaded down her exposed brown shoulders and into her Nth metal claws. Covering her chest is plated armor made from the same metal, as well as her boots, while she wears dark green pants over her legs. Rising from her back are a pair of magnificent white wings that make her look even more terrifying while spread out as she faced her enemies.

She raises her mace overhead and flies up a few feet to strike the monster over the head, only for it to grab hold of the mace before it can make contact. She looks on in shock for just a moment before the monster strikes her in the chest, which sent her flying back nearly a hundred feet before she crashed into a car.

"KENDRAAAA!" a new voice called out, drawing the monster's attention.

Hawkman dressed identically to his wife, and had a similar build, but was nearly a foot taller than her. Unlike her he was far angrier, far more violent. He roared with fury as he flew towards the monster, striking it in the side of its face with his mace, tearing open the side of its mask to reveal massive sharp teeth. He then delivered an uppercut to the monster, before it put its entire hand around his chest as he hit it.

The monster crushed him in its fist as he began to cry out in pain, before it crushed his ribcage and he could do nothing more than gasp for air. It dropped him to the ground where he began to writhe aimlessly, attempting to crawl away but unable to think of how to do so. As Hawkgirl recovered her eyes widened as she saw it put its foot on Hawkman's back, then take hold of his wings and raise them up.

She screamed out, "CARTERRRR!" as she flew forward, but it was too late.

The monster tore Hawkman's wings off with ease, spraying his blood over its chest and legs. He couldn't even scream, as the monster had already ruined his lungs, leaving him unable to do anything but lay there and suffer. It dropped his wings as its attention turned to the approaching Hawkgirl, before punching her in the top of the head as she moved into range, sending her crashing into the sidewalk next to Hawkman.

It picked Hawkman off the ground by his head and dragged him closer to Hawkgirl, then picked her up in the same fashion. "I love you…" she whispered, before the monster slammed both their heads into the ground, leaving their skulls crushed and embedded beneath the pavement.

The monster then moved on, taking no time to admire what it had done. It lived only to kill. It leapt up into the next building, crashing through the thirteenth floor. Finding no one inside, it moved to the next building, landing in the eleventh floor. There it found a handful of accountants, who it slaughtered without resistance.

As it leapt to the next building, a glowing golden lasso wrapped around its foot, yanking it back so it slammed into the side of the first building. The monster momentarily writhed wildly for freedom, before it fell still and began to study the situation. Only a few moments later it began to strike the building as hard as it could, shattering the concrete like it was nothing. Then, the upper floors began to slowly slide as the monster's efforts paid off, and the building fell over.

The monster fell to the ground, landing on its back. As it stood up it pulled the lasso off, causing sharp bones to rip through the clothes on its back. It looked up to see a quickly approaching shape that it immediately punched, knocking it back into the first floor of the building. A moment later the building began to completely fall down, debris crushing the monster and its attacker, as well as nearly a dozen bystanders.

The first responders arrived two minutes later in the form of a fire truck, two ambulances, and six police cars. The paramedics left quickly, taking two injured survivors away while putting out the call for more ambulances. The police and fire trucks began to dig through rubble, searching for survivors to seemingly no avail. Then, a small rumble came from within a pile of concrete.

It took two firemen and three police officers to pull the largest piece of concrete away, finally giving the person trapped beneath the ability to pull their self-free. They all stepped back as the rubble gave way and a hand rose up from beneath it before planting on a piece of debris at the person rose to their feet.

There stood princess Diana of Themyscira, bloody and bruised, but alive. Her dark blue tights were tattered and completely soaked in blood. Her arms hung limp by her sides as she looked around in desperation, her matted bloody black hair covering her left eye. As she limped forward, she realized people were talking to her, but she couldn't hear anything they were saying.

Then they began to run from her, and she turned to see the monster rising up, practically uninjured. Almost all the clothes on its upper body had been ripped apart, revealing the monstrous sight of its grey skin and armor like bones that now covered its body, growing from the wounds it received.

The monster pulled its arm back and punched her, only for Diana to block with her bracelets, completely absorbing the attack. "My turn," she growled, punching the monster with the same exact force it had just used to attack her,

It flew back fifty feet before sliding across the road for another thirty feet, then slowed to a stop. It quickly picked itself up practically uninjured, even as its jaw poked out to the far left. It charged back at her, raising its right hand up. At the last moment Diana braced for the attack, only to be struck in the gut by its left hand.

She flew into the air coughing up blood before she landed on a roof top, staring up at the sun. She watched the monster rise into the air then begin descending over her, before completely passing her. It left her barely alive, forcing her to live through the shame of defeat. A few seconds later she blacked out from blood loss.

No one heard the screams over the sound of the circus. But they heard the building come down. There was screaming at first, then whispers of fear. Several people left to investigate, many stayed inside, worried that some terrorist attack would target them next. They didn't have to wait long however, as only four and a half minutes later the monster would rip through the main tent, crushing six people beneath it before it began to beat down everyone in sight, leaving no one left alive.

The monster turned its sight upon Scott Free for just a moment, before resuming its rampage away from him. In that moment, as Scott looked around at the devastation around him, he realized for the first time just what he was a part of. He knew the cruelty of Apokolips, of the murder that Darkseid committed, but until now he never truly understood it. In that moment, he made a decision that would change his life forever.

Then he saw Thaddeus, laying lifelessly upon the ground, blood trickling out of his mouth. Doomsday had simply broken his neck, from an attack Scott hadn't even seen. For all he knew it wasn't even intentional, Thaddeus could have just been standing too close as it attacked someone else.

Scott collapsed alongside Thaddeus' body as the screams died down and the sounds of Doomsday left. He pulled Thaddeus' mask off and looked down at it as he thought about, he was complicit in the murder of not just Thaddeus, but the dozens of people who already died. Then he pulled the mask over his own face and knew what he had to do.


	9. The Death of Superman

Lois Lane stood in front of Jimmy Olsen, a thin ginger cameraman, as she prepared to deliver the story of her life. Around her were fifteen bodies with sheets stapled over them, and six more covered by body bags. Despite the chaos and bloodshed, Lois stood immune to the scene around her.

"We're live in three, two," Jimmy said, focusing the camera on Lois and the collapsed building behind her.

"Good evening, my name is Lois Lane. I'm at the east end of Metropolis where some kind of monster, rumored to be a space alien, has left behind immense destruction. We've confirmed the deaths of twenty-six people, with fourteen more in critical condition, and an unknown number more missing or dead. All residents of Metropolis East, Northherd, Wolf's Bridge, and Metropolis Square are advised to move to one of the city's many fallout shelters, or if you are unable to, a basement," as Lois finished saying this, a loud explosion came from far off, shortly accompanied by the complete collapse of a distant skyscraper. Lois looked back to the camera and continued, "As the destruction continues, we have only one question. Where is Superman?"

Gotham

Bruce Wayne pulled the cowl over his face, as Martian Manhunter stood behind him, and Dick Grayson to his left and Alfred to his right, all watching Lois' broadcast. Dick asked, "We're going to Metropolis?"

"We're not going anywhere," Bruce said. "Me and the Manhunter are going to see what we can do. This is too dangerous for you."

"Aw, come on!" Dick yelled. "I'm sixteen! I've beaten up like, two hundred guys! I can dodge bullets for crying out!"

"This is different. Whatever this is, it's strong. Superman strong."

On the screen before them came the limping and bloody figure of princess Diana, her lasso trailing behind her. Lois moved towards her, Jimmy following as she said, "Wonder Woman! Lois Lane, Daily Planet. Did you fight the monster responsible for this? What happened?"

Diana looked to her in fear and said, "There's no stopping this monster. I've killed monsters, gods even. But this… it's too strong. It won't stop until… until everything is dead."

Bruce then added to his earlier statement, "Stronger than Superman."

"What!? No way!" Dick exclaimed.

"On average, Superman is exactly equal to Wonder Woman in terms of strength. The maximum strength he's ever displayed has been during the summer, in the middle of the day, and it was only roughly 2.3 times that of Wonder Woman's peak strength. This thing, it beat her at the end of the day in fall through pure strength, then kept going. The best we're going to be able to do is stall it, and hope that with Superman on our side, we're enough."

Metropolis

As Batman prepared for his venture to Metropolis, another, stupider hero was already there. His name is Booster Gold, the leader of his own new team of super heroes, The Super Buddies™©. With him was millionaire Ted Kord, his boyfriend, who really only joined to be supportive. The only other two members they could find were The Wonder Twins (paten pending), Zan and Janya.

Booster Gold was the physical embodiment of narcissism. Which is fitting, as Narcissus was based off him. He towered over his teammates at 6'5, and despite his horrible diet was relatively thin. His hair was pure golden blond and his eyes as blue as the sea, with an all-star smile that would woe the coldest of hearts. His costume was simply a yellow-gold and black jumpsuit with a large star on his chest, and a pair of yellow tinted square goggles. That was of course technologically enhanced to grant him super strength and flight. Flying with him was also his robot companion, Skeets, who is just a golden oval with a red eye on it.

Ted was a bit out of shape, as he never intended to be a super hero. He's only 5'11, and is always slouching over, making him appear much shorter than his boyfriend. He dresses in a basic blue jumpsuit and mask with blue tinted goggles, and a basic utility built. Luckily, he also has several advanced pieces of technology, including a gun that produces various powerful soundwaves, a stun gun capable of bringing down a raging elephant, a grappling hook gun, and a device that can nearly instantly hack almost any piece of technology. Under his costume he hides reddish-brown hair and blue eyes, along with deep bags.

The Wonder Twins both stood at 5'8, and of course looked exactly the same. They both had short black hair, brown eyes, and a rather ambiguous skin tone and facial features. This was due to the fact that they were aliens, although if someone were to compare them to a human ethnicity it would land closest to Mongolian. They both even dressed in the same purple hoodie and black jeans. The only way to tell them apart was that Zan wears black lipstick, while Janya wears none.

Booster Gold had the brilliant plan of saving the day by fighting the monster tearing through Metropolis all by their selves. As they flew towards Metropolis Square in The Beetle, a blue bug shaped ship developed by Ted, he laid out his plan for The Super Buddies™©, "So, first I distract the monster, saving some terrified woman right before she's killed, then Janya turns into water,"

"I turn into water," Zan said.

"Then Zan turns into a dinosaur,"

"I'm Janya," Janya stated.

"As the monster charges towards poor defenseless me, I sock him in the face! Then Janya, you get all over him. Just, cover him in your water. Then Teddy, you shoot him with your taser and get him all toasty. Then Zan, you just! You just eat him! Just like that!"

"That's a terrible plan," Ted said from the cockpit as he pulled his mask on. "We're here."

"We're going to die," Zan and Janya both said at the same time.

Booster Gold approached Blue Beetle as he said, "Twins! That's not the Super Buddies™© spirit!"

Blue Beetle looked up at him in confusion and asked, "Did you just… say the trademark and copyright symbols out loud?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Booster replied. "So, where's the monster?"

Blue Beetle frantically looked back out to the streets below and exclaimed, "He was just," he was cut off ship lurched as the monster grabbed hold of its hull, before ripping it open and shoving its hand inside, reaching for wires to pull free. Blue Beetle quickly shouted, "Hang on! I'm bringing us in for a landing, and it'll probably be a crash!"

He was right, and Booster Gold should have strapped into a seat. As the ship crashed into the lifeless street, he went flying through the cockpit and tumbled across the road before coming to a stop twenty feet away. He quickly recovered, having only broken his goggles and cut open his cheek, before he froze in horror as he watched the monster climb onto The Beetle. It grabbed hold of Blue Beetle, of Ted, of HIS TED, before throwing him away like an old toy. Booster watched as Ted hit the side of a car, caving in its door, before going limp. He took off running towards his boyfriend as The Wonder Twins fought back against the monster and Skeets flew towards him from within the ship's wreckage.

Skeets quickly scanned Blue Beetle before saying, "Ted Kord is injured but alive. He has broken forty-two bones and ruptured a kidney."

Booster cried out, "Ted! Can you hear me!? Ted!?"

"He is unconscious. You should turn your attention to the rest of your team."

Janya charged forward in the form of a triceratops, headbutting the monster as she continued forward. Her middle horn just barely pierced the monster's chest and she only managed to push it away from the ship before it raised its arms into the air and brought them down over her back. Janya fell to the ground as Zan let out an alien curse, before taking the form of water and flowed towards the monster. It looked down in confusion as he snaked up its leg, before spreading out across its body. Unsure what to do, the monster began to claw at its own body in an attempt to get Zan off as he lowered his PH level to turn acidic.

Booster Gold rose to his feed and clenched his fists, which began to crack with electricity as the tasers built into his gloves activated. He walked forward with pure rage, before striking the monster in its back, the shock boosted by Zan. He delivered a second punch as it quickly turned, hitting him square in the chest in retaliation. Blood shot from Booster's mouth as he flew back into the wall of a building close to Ted, before the monster began to stalk forward, ignoring Zan.

The monster raised both its arms into the air as Booster Gold looked up at it in defeat, blood trickling down his chin. He could barely produce a whisper as he said, "Skeets… take care of Teddy…"

Before Skeets could deliver a reply, a strange green substance wrapped itself around the monster's fist before darting down to the ground behind it, holding the monster's arms up in the air. The substance took the form of the Martian Manhunter with his arms in the form of tendrils to keep the monster from killing Booster. Overhead flew the Batplane, before Batman himself dropped down to the ground dressed in a suit of power armor.

"You're late," Booster said as he attempted to stand, before coughing up more blood.

"You're lung's punctured," Batman said as he approached them. "Zan, get Booster and Kord out of here. Manhunter, once they're clear, move Janya."

"Wait, who are you?" Zan asked.

"Are you sure?" Martian Manhunter asked.

"I'm positive. This suit was designed to beat Superman. It'll hold."

Zan returned to his humanoid form in front of the monster and quickly moved towards Booster Gold, scooping him up as the hero yelled at him to get Ted first. Behind them, the Manhunter began to loose his grasp. Once Booster was clear Zan headed back for Ted, moving him quickly as well.

Once they were a few feet away Batman said, "Now."

Martian Manhunter let go and flew towards Janya's unconscious triceratops form. The creature smashed its arms into the ground, shattering both the sidewalk and the road, as Batman delivered a super powered punch to its ribs. The monster turned on him as he upper cut it and delivered another rib punch at the same time, before dodging out of the way as it grabbed at him. He quickly kicked it in the side of its left knee, hoping to break it, only for the monster to punch him in the left side, knocking him through the building.

The Batman landed in the empty waiting room of a dentist's office before quickly picking himself up as the monster closed in on him. His gauntlets crackled with electricity before he attempted to punch it in the face, only for the monster to grab his arm and deliver a punch to the chest, deeply cracking his armor. Still holding on to his arm it pulled its free arm back and delivered another punch to his head, shattering both his helmet and his mask, as well as cracking his skull.

He looked up through dim red vision as the monster prepared for one final blow. Just before it connected, Martian Manhunter tackled it, knocking it away from Batman, a second before Superman appeared, punching it in the chest hard enough to send it flying into the building across the street.

"I think I'm dead," Batman said as he fell to the ground.

"You're beat bad, pal," Superman said as he approached him. "Stay down. We'll handle this. Speaking of which, who are you?" he asked, looking to Martian Manhunter.

"I'm a friend of Batman's. You can call me the Martian Manhunter."

"Ah, figures. Pleased to meet you. I'm Superman."

Ahead of them the monster had recovered and began charging forward, roaring as it did so. Both Superman and Martian Manhunter flew forward at once, Superman far faster. He hit it with an uppercut to the chest that send it flying into the air, which allowed Martian Manhunter to turn his arms and legs to vines that quickly wrapped around it then hold it in place before it could fall back to the ground.

Superman began to hit the monster with all he had while Martian Manhunter bound it, each blow dealing enough damage to kill any one of his normal enemies. Each strike did little more than make it mad. With each strike its bone structure strengthened, allowing it to absorb more damage in the next hit. Then with no warning it broke its right arm free, hitting Superman in the side of the head, rupturing his right ear drum and sending him flying back towards the ground. Martian Manhunter attempted to bind it again but the monster moved too fast, grabbing hold of his head and crushing it in its fist, spilling green blood onto its hand before it fell back to the ground.

As the monster stood up Martian Manhunter crawled away, reforming into his humanoid shape while holding his injured head. Realizing he was blind he opened two eyes on his chest and began to slowly walk forward, attempting to find a safe place to recover. The monster paid no attention to him however and instead moved towards the recovering Superman. It grabbed him by the head and delivered a powerful blow to his ribs. Then another. And another. And another. Each blow tore away his costume, cutting open his body with the bones on its knuckles.

Superman let out a sustained blast from his heat vision for nearly twenty seconds before it burned through the monster's hand and it dropped him to his knees. He then spit out blood before flying forward, taking hold of the monster and slamming it into a car, completely destroying it. The monster simply punched him in the chest, knocking him off it, before it abruptly jumped high into the air.

Superman slowly got back to his feet, nearly falling over before he steadied himself. Then he quickly looked around for the monster, panic setting in. Then he heard it. He barely had time to move as it crashed into the ground, completely tearing through the road, taking him with it as it fell into the subway system.

The monster grabbed hold of Superman's legs and began to slam him into the walls of the tunnel, shaking its foundation. The sound of a train filled Superman's ears and he began to struggle free with more intensity, knowing what would happen if it reached them before he got free. It was of no use however, and soon bright light filled the dark tunnel.

It simply dropped him as the train approached, turning to take it on as it completely ignored Superman. Seeing his chance, he grabbed hold of its arms from behind and held it in place as the train hit them at full force, dealing the most damage to the monster. It wasn't done yet though, and began to elbow him in the face, before delivering a strike powerful enough to knock Superman off of it.

As Superman fell to the side of the train he watched in horror as the monster planted its feet into the tracks, suddenly stopping the train in its place with terrible effects as screams filled the tunnel. He flew forward as fast as he could, pulling cars down as they flipped over each other, making sure the damage couldn't escalate beyond a few broken bones. As he reached the front of the train, the monster raised the engine over its head and through it at Superman, hitting him dead on and knocking him back onto the top of a car as the engine fell to the ground, killing the engineer.

The monster leapt onto the train, landing directly over Superman. It raised its fist and punched him in the chest, tearing open the symbol on his chest and knocking both of them down into the car, causing even more screams. It hit him in the face, breaking his jaw, but Superman wasn't out of the fight yet. As the monster hit him again, he grabbed hold of its fist and delivered a blast of heat vision directly into its eyes, blinding it. The monster fell away from him as it groped its face, allowing him to grab hold of its leg and chest then raise it over his head and fly upwards, using it as a shield to tear through the various layers of concrete, dirt, and rock overhead.

Once above the street Superman didn't stop, intending to throw the monster into space. He didn't count on it recovering though. The monster suddenly grabbed hold of his arm and twisted itself off him, pulling up down towards the ground, before punching him in the ribs as it still held on. It grabbed hold of his cape and tore it from his back then threw him to the ground below. Superman hit the ground first, landing atop a van that he completely flattened. The monster landed a few seconds later, atop the wreckage of The Beetle, causing even more damage to the destroyed vehicle.

It stalked forward as flames enveloped the crashed ship, before it completely exploded, but still the monster walked forward. Superman got to his feet, refusing to back down, then charged at the monster with a roar. The monster roared in return as it raised its fist to meet him and open the claws on its left hand. Superman raised his left arm to block its punch as he hit the monster in its face with his right fist but didn't expect it to stab him in the gut. His eyes went wide with shock, then confusion, and finally pain, before the monster ripped its claws out and even more pain filled him.

Superman stumbled back as blood dripped onto the street, and he stared down at the large bloody hole in his abdomen. He looked back up at the monster loomed over him before Kara slammed her fist into the back of its head at the full force of someone who just broke the sound barrier, her scream of fury filling the air a few seconds later as she stood panting over the monster with its head lodged in the road. The monster's right eye popped out of its skull from the force of her blow, before the monster's skull was embedded into the pavement.

"Kara..." Superman weakly said, stepping towards her.

"Kal…" Kara replied as she looked to his wound in horror and sorrow.

The monster began to rise to its feet once again, pulling its head free, before turning to Kara. Superman growled, "No more," then took hold of its jaw and the top of its head once its back was turned.

He completely twisted its head around backwards, severing its spinal cord and finally killing the Doomsday monster before it could hurt his cousin. He dropped its body to the ground where it remained lifeless, nothing more than a husk of flesh and bone. Then he fell to the ground, coughing up large amounts of blood as Kara attempted to compress his wound. The Batman stumbled out from the building he had been to see Superman fall over, and Martian Manhunter watched as his breathing slowed while Kara took hold of his hand and softly cried.

He whispered to Kara, "Protect them…"

"No! Hang in there, Kal! Don't leave me now! You're all I have left!"

Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson arrived on scene just in time to see the downed hero, her heart breaking at the sight of him bleeding to death. She froze in place for several seconds before she ran towards him, dropping her microphone to the ground, before she fell to her knees at his side.

"Clark, that's you, isn't it?" she asked, looking to him with tears in her eyes.

"Hi… Lois…" he said before coughing up more blood. "I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault… you had to keep it secret. I get it."

"I meant… for being late…"

Lois laughed for a moment before she began to cry then choked out, "You jerk! Don't leave me now, damn it!"

"I'm… sorry… Kara, remember… what I told you…"

"Don't die! The world needs a Superman!"

"It has one…" he whispered, looking to Kara, before his eyes fell shut.

"I… I don't hear his heart beat," Kara said, before she began to shake him. "Wake up! Please! Wake up!"

"He's gone, kid," Lois said, putting her hand on Kara's shoulder.

In that moment, as the heroes of Earth watched as their greatest champion die, no one would know just how devastating it would be. The entire world would weep for Superman, and for just a moment all would be unified in memorial. But the world needs a Superman, especially in times of Crisis.


	10. Miracle

It was a nice cool evening, almost the perfect fall day. Orange leaves fell from the trees and softly blew in the occasional gust of light wind. It would have been the perfect day, if they weren't burying the world's greatest hero. It seemed an injustice to simply bury Superman, but it was all they could do. The spot of his grave was atop unoccupied land belonging to Lex Luthor, who donated it without hesitation. Of the people in attendance, only a few knew his real name. They knew better than to mark his grave with his real name, to drag his family into the spotlight. Instead the tombstone simply read: "Here Lies Superman – Our Hero"

His coffin was carried by heroes, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, The Flash, and Shazam. They laid him to rest in a grave dug by a hundred people, each one somebody Superman saved. They stood surrounded by more heroes, the Batman, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Kid Flash, Speedy, Jay Garrick, Robin, Captain Atom, Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Lex Luthor himself, in addition to a teenage girl none of them recognized.

Each of them stepped in front of the grave, Wonder Woman first. "I first met Superman when he was just starting, practically a child. He punched a tank that was heading towards an occupied village, giving me the time needed to evacuate the civilians. He stood strong against a small army, not letting them into the village an disabling their equipment for nearly an hour all by himself. It was then that I saw there truly was good in the world of man."

Green Arrow stepped up next. "I only met Superman once… I was tracking a drug cartel into Metropolis, only to find out they already got taken care of by Supes. He took them all out without hurting anyone, just, wrapped them up with their own ropes and chains, and called the police. He was the first person I ever saw, first hero, that didn't want to hurt anyone. No matter how bad."

The Flash was next, "I met Superman as I searched for one of my own enemies in Metropolis, Captain Cold. All he had to do was look around the city and he found him just by looking. He was… he had powers so great, yet he used them to help everyone, even those who didn't really need it."

Then came Shazam, "I only just met Superman a few days ago… but I had seen him so many times. I saw him protecting everyone. He even protected me, defended me. He was a hero."

Batman said, "I wasn't his friend, but we both knew each other's secret identities. We trusted each other. He was the only person I trusted, outside of my family."

Booster Gold said, "As all of you know, my name is Booster Gold. I'm also from the future. Ever since I was a kid, I was hearing about what a great super hero Superman was, how he never backed down from a fight and protected everyone, helping them in every way he could. He was… he was my inspiration for becoming a hero. I came back in time just to meet him, and he was better than I could have ever imagined. He was… he was just a good person. Even if he didn't have powers, he would still help people."

Blue Beetle said, "Uh, hi… I met Superman a few times. The first was when I opened the Kord Industries building here in Metropolis, there was a terrorist attack. Or rather, there wasn't. Superman found the bombs and destroyed them before they went off, shook my hand. It was awe inspiring. Then he came to me when the cyborg Metallo emerged and had me build a device to shut him down so he could be safely arrested. It was an honor working alongside him."

Jay Garrick stepped up and said, "I've known plenty of heroes. Superman, he was one of the greatest. Everyone always worked for some motivation, money, fame, ego. Not Superman. He did it because he truly wanted to help people. He was a hero in the greatest sense of the word."

Last to speak was Lex Luthor, dressed in a black suit instead of his usual white. He looked over the group of heroes and said, "Me and Superman… we were never friends. In fact, I kind of… I kind of hated him. I thought because of him, he was making the world more dangerous by always being there. I always saving people, punching the bad guys, that it made people feel safe and defenseless. But I was wrong. He was saving people who needed it. He was saving me… and now, he's gone. We still have heroes, but we don't have a Superman. Without him… the world will never be the same."

Most of the heroes left, including Lex, who gave one last look to the grave of his greatest enemy before he told is driver to leave. Then just Batman, Robin, and Kara were left. Batman told Robin to go back to the Batmobile as he approached Kara who stood silently over Superman's grave.

"I let him die," she quietly said.

"It's not your fault," Batman replied.

"If I just went after him right after I heard it… I could have saved him."

"No, that monster would probably just have killed you too."

"I had just got him back… then I lost him again…"

"It's not your fault, Kara. Come back to the Batcave with me. I'll get you a room, a safe place, something to eat. I'm sure you're starving."

"I'm fine. I just… I need to be on my own for a while. Go back to the Ark. At least I'll be around my culture…"

"You know where I live."

"Thank you, Bruce. I'll stop by… eventually."

"Goodbye, Kara."

"Goodbye."

Gotham, two hours later

Bruce Wayne walked down the steps to the Batcave, leaving behind his family to brood in peace. As he reached the bottom he looked around, finding everything exactly as he left it. He said, "I know you're here."

Mister Miracle stepped out from behind the giant penny and asked, "Wow. How?"

"Dust trail coming from your breathing. You're not Thaddeus, so who are you?"

"My name is Mister Miracle,"

"No. It's not."

"Okay, I'm named Scott Free."

Bruce stared at him in silence for nearly half a minute before asking, "What are you doing in my cave?"

"There's a war coming."

"With Superman's death? Undoubtably."

"No, not that. Apokolips is coming."

"An apocalypse, huh?" Bruce asked, clenching his fist as he prepared to fight.

"No, listen to me! It's a planet, a war world! It's leader, Darkseid, he's going to kill everyone here! He goes from planet to planet, wiping out all life, except for the strongest. He takes them and breaks their minds down until they serve him, continuing the process. He's going to invade your world, and he's going to win."

"Do you have any proof? Anything to make me believe you?"

"He's the one that sent Doomsday. He's the reason Superman died."

"How do you know this?"

"Because I'm Darkseid's son."

"So I have even less reason to trust you."

"Listen to me, I'm not trying to hurt you! But you have to prepare. Your world, it's stronger than most of the others. You have a chance of winning, but only if you're ready for when he comes."

"Say I believe you. Then what am I preparing for?"

Scott took a deep breath then said, "Genocide. Most of your world will die, no matter what. He has millions of soldiers. Hundreds of millions. Then there's the Furies, elite warriors, each one a New God. They're all nearly as strong as Superman. Some even stronger, and all better warriors. Then there's his Four Horsemen. They change frequently, probably an entirely different roster when they get here. But each one is incredibly powerful. Then Darkseid himself… he's unrivaled. He's almost unstoppable."

"Well then… we better get started."

"You believe me?"

"I believe that you believe what you're saying. There's never any harm in preparing. Besides, you don't seem like you care about who I am."

"Yeah, your whole secret identity thing is weird. Where do we start?"

"At the basics. I need to know everything about his military, and how to counter them. Once we're ready for the masses we get down to specifics, all the way up to Darkseid himself."

"You can't beat him."

"Everyone has a weakness. We just have to find it."


End file.
